Yury Lapshun and Nick Conticello play 1 b4! shack your oppoeents with the Sotohkyplay 1 ba! dS Olas) Gloucester Publishers ple www.everymanchess.comFirst published in 2008 by Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman Publishers ple), Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT Copyright © 2008 Yury Lapshun and Nick Conticello The right of Yury Lapshun and Nick Conticello to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Pat- ents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a re- trieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 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Printed and bound in the UK by Clays, Bungay, Suffolk.Contents Nano eon Bibliography Introduction The Sokolsky Gambit 1 b4 e5 2 8b2 #xb4 Black Plays ...e5 and ...d6 Queen’s Indian Systems Black Plays ...d5 and ...e6 Black Plays ...d5 and ...££5/Rg4 1.06, 1...f5 and Unusual Moves Index of Complete Games ” woBibliography Books Debyut 1 b2-b4, Alexei Sokolsky (Minsk 1963) 1 P-QN4, Andrew Soltis (Chess Digest 1992) An Opening Repertoire for Black, Drazen Marovic and Bruno Parma (Batsford 1987) An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player, Eduard Gufeld (Cadogan 1996) Beating Unusual Chess Openings, Richard Palliser (Everyman Chess 2007) Black to Play and Win with 1...g6, Andrew Soltis (Chess Digest 1988) Chess Openings for Black, Explained, Dzindzichashvili, Alburt and Perelshteyn (Chess Information and Research Center 2005) Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings Volume A (Sahovski Informator) My Best Games of Chess 1905-1930, Savielly Tartakower (G. Bell and Sons 1953) The New St. George, Michael Basman (Cadogan 1993) Winning Unorthodox Openings, Angus Dunnington (Everyman Chess 2000) Databases Mega Database 2007 The Week in ChessIntroduction by Nick Conticello One Saturday evening in September 2004, I was sitting in the Marshall Chess Club, mired in a dreadful slump, when Yury Lapshun came up to me and asked if I would be interested in helping, him write a book on the move 1 b4. I gave the matter due deliberation (a whole 20 seconds) and agreed. “It shouldn't take too long,” he said. “Maybe three weeks? I'm going to be busy after that.” Three weeks? Once he realized we were writing a book and not a pamphlet, he understood it would take a bit longer. In fact it took three years! (We finished the first draft after two years, then found a publisher and rewrote the entire thing.) Anyway, once I had agreed, the benefits were immediate. The next day I played two terrifically creative games and finished second in a strong tournament. There’s something about Yury... My main function on this project has been to assist Yury, whose native tongue is Russian, to communicate his ideas to an English-speaking public But I have also contributed research and the occasional piece of analysis, so it can be said that this book is truly a cooperative effort. History of the Opening The move 1 b4 had been played spo- radically by masters of iconoclastic bent before 1919, but without too much success. Here is the game B-Fleissig- KSchlecter, Vienna 1893 (or 1895; sources are confused on the date), that is a typically frightful beating for White: 1b4 e6 2 Ob2 Af6 3 a3 c5 4 bs d5 5: d4 Was+ 6 c3 Deg 7 Wa3 cxdg 8 Wxdg 85 9 Wxg7 Sxf2+ 10 eda da! 12 Wxh8+ e7 12 WxcB dxc3 13 £1 Dd7! 14 Wea8 Wxbs 15 ofa Wds5+ 16 Wca £34117 Oxe3 fz! 18 &xf2 Wd2+ 19 &b1 Wda+ 20 Laz Wxe2 mate (0-1) As we say in the USA, don’t try this at home! But in 1919 Savielly TartakowerPlay 1 ba! famously used it to beat Richard Réti in a match in Vienna (this game is covered in Chapter One). ] must take this opportunity to correct Richard Palliser’s explanation in his excellent book Beating Unusual Chess Openings. Tartakower recounts in his book My Best Games of Chess that he visited the Central Park Zoo in New York just before he tried 1 b4 against Geza Maréczy in the 1924 New York tour- nament. He was very impressed by the climbing skills of an orangutan and thought the ‘climb’ of the white b- pawn was similar. So he dubbed the opening ‘the Orangutan’ and the name stuck. The American master Anthony San- tasiere played a version prefaced with 1 Of3, and Réti himself often advanced the b-pawn two squares in conjunction with the fianchetto of the king’s bishop in character with his eponymous sys- tem. In more recent times the British International Master Michael Basman has played 1 b4 (or first 1 a3 or even 1 13!2) as part of his unique complex of offbeat systems. Consider the follow- ing: M.Basman-B.Thipsay British Championship, Eastbourne 1991 1h3d52b44\f6 3 Af3 e6 4 a3 bd7 5 €3 Ld6 6 c4 6 7 c3 0-08 Sb2 Ee8 9 We2 a5 10 b5 c5 11 ga! dxc4 12 &xca Db 13 Le2 AFB 14 gs Afd7 15 ha Dds 16 hs Axc3 17 &xc3 b6 18 £.d3! 18...f5 19 gxf6 “\xf6 20 “igs Gaz 22 2.xh7+ @h8 22 h6 1-0 However, this book would probably never have been written without the pioneering work of the Soviet master Alexei Sokolsky, whose games and analysis in his book Debyut 1 b2-b4 demonstrated beyond any doubt that the Sokolsky Opening was a viable weapon at the highest levels of play Great players such as Smyslov, Bronstein, Spassky and Larsen have used this opening with success against grandmasters. None of these experts have used the Sokolsky frequently, but at the right moment it can be brutally effective. General Theory The advance b2-b4 gains space on the queenside from the outset and an- nounces a general policy of left flank expansion. On the fourth rank the b- pawn is active in the fight for central control; it can drive away an enemy knight from c6 or exchange itself for a c-pawn foolhardy enough to challengeit too swiftly. Should the pawn ad- vance to the fifth rank, it may attack an enemy pawn chain (b7-c6-d5) or con- trol the c6-square which might become weak after an exchange of Black’s fi- anchettoed light-squared bishop. White's dark-squared bishop will generally start life on b2 and exert con- siderable influence on the al-h8 diago- nal. The light-squared bishop has a choice, but a good rule of thumb is to put it on e2 or d3 against a Black set-up based on ...d7-d5, and to fianchetto it if time permits against set-ups with ..e7- 5. This deployment, in conjunction with the thrust c2-c4, resembles an English Opening, and the reader is ad- vised to acquaint himself with that sys- tem. Of course, against a King’s Indian formation by Black, one may also play 2-e3 and d2-d4, put the bishop on e2, and play a French Defence with an ex- tra tempo. Flexibility is one of the main virtues of the Sokolsky. Against ...d5 defences White may even opt for a Bird Opening set-up with f2-f4 and Af3, strong-pointing e5. But it’s usually a good idea to avoid an early d2-d4, as the weakness of the c4- square may make itself felt. Black’s main defensive systems in- volve advancing the e-pawn or d-pawn two squares at once, or playing an early ...c6 to attack the b-pawn quickly. The move 1...e5 is the most critical op- tion, as the blocking of the long diago- nal and the threat to dominate the cen- tre with ...d7-d5 may leave White, if he is not careful, with a passive position Introduction without much space to manoeuvre. It may be necessary to sacrifice material, often the f-pawn or the b-pawn, to meet this strategic threat. The positions after 1 b4 e5 2 S&b2 f6!? (Chapter One) require the most accuracy from both players. The line 1 b4 c6 2 &b2 a5 aims to weaken the b-pawn before attacking it with pieces. We recommend the gambit 3 bS!? as the best option. White will lure the pawn to b4 and then attack with a2-a3, as in the Benko Gambit (see Chapter Seven). Why should you play this opening? There is one outstanding reason to play the Sokolsky: it is virtually certain that your opponent will be unfamiliar with the positions that arise. The best way to reach good positions from the opening is to play reasonably sound systems with which you are familiar and com fortable, and with which your oppo- nents are unfamiliar and uncomfort. able! Under these conditions, your op- ponents will surely make mistakes which you can exploit to win Notice I said ‘reasonably sound’. If you want to guarantee yourself a small advantage with no tisk, the Sokolsky is not for you! After the best practical continuation (in my opinion), 1 b4 e5! 2 &b2 &xb4!, Black can be assured of an active position, at least for the first ten or so moves. However, we feel that White is not worse here, and the first player has the significant practical ad- vantage of being on familiar turf, givenPlay 1 ba! proper preparation. So much for familiarity. As for com- fort, the Sokolsky is flexible enough to offer players of widely varying styles positions to suit their tastes. For in- stance, Alexei Sokolsky was a solid, perhaps even a stolid, player; a plod- der if you will. His contemporary, Bo- ris Katalymov, an equally ardent devo- tee of this opening, was a daring tacti- cian who revelled in risky flank at- tacks. Bukhuti Gurgenidze is a lover of unusual, closed structures, while the author of this book, Yury Lapshun, detests closed games. There is truly something for everybody in the Sokol- sky. If you want to explore untrodden paths, if you enjoy thinking for your- self, or if you prefer to ‘play chess and not variations’, you have come to the right place. Memorization is required only for the sharpest lines occurring after 1 b4 e5. Other first moves for Black place a premium on understand- ing and judgment. A careful study of the material in this book will provide you with a grasp of the basics of nu- merous structures your opponents will try, and the confidence to confront them effectively. Opening books may not be too helpful What of your opponents who may be aware of your predilection for 1 b4? Where can they turn for guidance? Most of our readers will be club players, as will their opponents. The average non-professional will not be familiar with the best methods of wad- ing through databases for the most cor- rect information, so one may assume your adversaries will seek guidance from the standard opening reference works and repertoire books like this one. Fortunately for us, very few of them offer really useful information. For instance, the late Grandmaster Eduard Gufeld, in his book An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player, rec- ommends 1] b4 e6 2 &b2 Df6 3 b5 d54 3 c5 5 bxc6 bxc6, and now he gives the move 6 2f3 after which Black grabs the initiative on the queenside. But ] prefer the continuation 6 c4 £d6 7 Af3 0-0 8 We2 Abd7 9 Ac3 Lb7 10 Le2!, as played in K.Novikov-D.Pincher, Tula 2000. Another book, An Opening Reper- toire for Black by GMs Drazen Marovic and Bruno Parma, considers only 1 3 f6 2 b4 and offers only one example: 2.6 3 Bb2 &g7 3 4 c4 0-05 €3 c6 6 Se2 d5 70-0 2g4 8 Da32! DAbd7 9 bs cxb5 10 Dxb5 dxe4 11 &xc4 a6 12 Dbd4 5 13 De2 e4 14 Add Bc8 15 Bb3 AcS 16 &a3 Dtd7 17 Hel Was 18 Sxc5 Dxc5 19 h3 &xe2 20 Axe? Hed 21 Dg3 Les? (Marovic and Parma prefer 21...2fe8) 22 Exc5! Wxc5 23 Dxe4, and White ac- tually won a long rook and pawn end- ing, V.Smyslov-W. Uhlmann, Moscow 1967. But what of the move order 1 b4 Af6 2 Bb2 g6 3 &xf6!2, one may ask - the authors offer no advice. The King’s Indian is no simple panacea against the Sokolsky. Many repertoire books don’t even discuss 1 b4, considering only 1b3 (the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack), whichposes vastly different strategic prob- lems for both sides. A few books, how- ever, do make decent suggestions against our opening. For example, the American Grandmaster Andrew Soltis, in his Black to Play and Win with 1...96, offers a sound King’s Indian set-up and considers the Sokolsky separately from the Nimzowitsch-Larsen. Our prefer- ences against this structure will be found in Chapter Three. Two recent books, Chess Openings for Black, Explained by Grandmasters Dzindzichashvili, Alburt and Perel- shteyn, and Beating Unusual Chess Openings by IM Richard Palliser, have presented a strong challenge based on the line 1 b4 e5 2 &b2 &xb4. How to deal with their recommendations is discussed in Chapter Two. The Sokolsky Connection Part of our mission in writing this book was to present the best of Sokolsky’s work to the English-speaking chess world. All the games played by Sokol- sky (except Game 10), and_ several other pre-1970 games (5, 26, 45, 47, 50, 68, 74, 76 and 77) include notes based heavily upon or directly translated from Sokolsky’s book. Occasionally Sokolsky got something wrong, and we have corrected his analysis where nec- essary. But we have tried for the most part to retain the flavour of Sokolsky’s Introduction writing in these games. However, our primary purpose was to put forth Yury Lapshun’s games and ideas, as he is certainly one of the strongest active players who regularly plays the Sokolsky. Yury has annotated more than 60 games here, including, 20 of his own best games, and I believe they are a valuable contribution to the literature of chess. Pronoun Questions For the remainder of this book, the pronouns ‘TV’, ‘me’ and ‘mine’ refer to Yury Lapshun, and ‘co-author’ refers to Nick Conticello. The authors under- stand that a significant portion of our readership will be female, and there- fore we have used gender-neutral pro- nouns whenever possible. Conclusion 1 will now step aside and let Yury Lap- shun, with some help from Alexei Sokolsky, guide you the rest of the way. On behalf of Yury, I wish you every success in your games with 1 b4, and 1 hope you experience as much pleasure in reading this work as the authors enjoyed while writing it. Nick Conticello, New York, March 2008Chapter One The Sokolsky Gambi 1b4e5 2 &.b2 £6!? 3 e4! (or 3 b5!?) We begin our survey of 1 b4 with one of its most complicated and most theo- retical variations, the so-called Sokol- sky Gambit. With his second move Black embarks on a policy of building a strong, classical pawn centre, using it to blunt White's pieces, in particular the dark-squared bishop, and eventu- ally expanding and breaking through on the kingside. We believe White must combat this plan by drastic means, including the offer of a pawn or two in 19th century style. We start with two classic Tarta- kower games that put the Sokolsky Opening ‘on the map’ so to speak. These games, and two later ones, Fischer-Gloger (Game 3) and Kataly- mov-Muratov (Game 4), examine the acceptance of the gambit with 3...&2xb4. White replies 4 &c4 with the idea of continuing with the advance f2-f4, and often £4-£5 following a similar strategy to that used in the Vienna Game. The — Katalymov-Estrin twins (Games 5-6) consider the theoretically approved thrust 3...d5. Instead of the pedestrian 4 exd5 Sxb4, as given by Angus Dunnington in his excellent book Winning Unorthodox Openings, we recommend the lively 4 f4!. This thrust of the bishop’s pawn suits my style better. My encounters with Laframboise and Blumenfeld (Games 7-8) illustrate two logical but - perhaps rightly - rare attempts by Black. These games, IPlay 1 ba! hope, will demonstrate that a thorough understanding of the ideas from the previous examples will enable you to cope with the unexpected, even in such a wild opening as this. Of course, not everyone will want to play in this gambiteering way, and for people of a more conservative tem- perament (like my co-author) we in- clude three examples of the positional 3 b5, one of which was played and ana- lysed by Alexei Sokolsky himself. Game 1 S.Tartakower-R.Réti Vienna 1919 1b4e5 2 2 b2f63e4 i xb4 Black’s attempts at refusing the gambit are discussed in Games 5-8. 4ascal According to Sokolsky, this is the best move. 4..De7 This knight helps to prepare ...d7- d5, and later on to protect {4 (for ex- ample, after {2-£4, met by ..exf4 fol- 12 lowed by ...Dg6). 5 fa The immediate 5 WhS+ is White's main alternative (see Game 3). 5..d5 6 exds 6d6 Later Colle tried 6...exf4 against Tar- takower (see Game 2). 7 fxes fxe5 8 Wh5+ igé 9 Af Tartakower is strangely silent about the rest of the opening phase until move fourteen. Perhaps he felt the game was complex enough to dispense with any further comments on compli- cations that didn’t occur. 9.87 9.00 10 DgS h6 11 Deb Af 12 ®xd8 AxhS 13 Deb Hf7 14 Dc3 looks a bit better for White because of his lead in development and that powerful stal- lion on e6. 100-0 After 10 £d3 0-0 11 &xg6 hxg6 12 Wxg6 Ac5 13 0-0 the position is un- clear. 10...0-0 11 Dic3 Bq 11...Df6 12 Wg5 e4 13 Add Bxh2+ 14 Gh (but not 14 xh27? DAga+!) 14...De5 15 &b3 h6 16 Wh4 should beThe Sokolsky Gambit good for White. 12 d3 \f6 13 Wes h6 14 Wg! 14 Wxg6?? allows Black to trap the queen with 14.2 g4!. 14.004 Black is not ready to open the cen- tre. 14..2g4, bringing another piece out, would have been better. 15 Dxeq Dxeg 15..Hxe4 16 Wxg6 Hg4 17 &xf6 Wxf6 18 Wxf6 gxf6 leads to a pawn-up endgame for White. 16 dxe4 16 Wxgé! would have been more dangerous for Black. After 16..ig4 17 Whs Af 18 Axfo Wxfo 19 d4 White's strong centre outweighs any problems associated with the misplaced queen on h5. Note that 19...2xd4? 20 We8+ &h7 21 &d3+ wins material for White. 16... 84 16... We8! 17 &d3 xed is unclear. 17 Wea &xf3 18 Exf3 Exf3 19 gxf3 We5+ 20 Ghia Whs 21 We Efs 22 Qe2 Res 23 Axes Wxes 24 Nga \f4 25 Qfa Black is a pawn down, but his ac- tive pieces probably offer enough compensation. 25... 6? But there is not enough compensa- tion for two pawns! 25...WWc3!? is an improvement. Tartakower mentions 25...b6 26 c4, but even 26...We3 is tough to crack. 26 Wxa7 Eb6 27 d6! Wxd6 28 icq+ &h7 29 Wbs Now the threat is Wg8 mate, and White is winning 29..De6 30 Sxe6 Wxeb 31 xc? WE 32 Eixg7+! Wxg7 33 Wxb6 1-0 33...Wal1 34 dg2! We7+ 35 £2, as given by Tartakower, is an easy win for White. 13Play 1 ba! Game 2 S.Tartakower-E.Colle Bardejov 1926 1b4e5 2 2b2 f63e4 Sxb4 4 2c4 De7 5f4d5 After 5...exf4 6 \h3 d5 7 exd5 &xh3 8 Wh5+ g6 9 Wxh3, White has a strong initiative in return for the pawn. 6 exd5 exfa 7 WF3 Probably 7 Wh5+ g6 and only then 8 Wf3, keeping some pressure on the f6- pawn, was a better choice. Addition- ally, White also had the possibility of 7 ®Dh3 transposing to the previous note. 7.2. d6 8 Dez Agé 9 dq We7 10 Lica! This passive-looking move assures the recapture of the pawn and keeps the position close to equal. 10 0-0 was another possibility. 10....2.f5 11 2d3 Axd3 12 Wxd3 0-0 13 0-0 He8 14 Axfq Axf4 15 Qxfa Oxfa 16 Exf4 “a6 17 Ad2 We3+ 17...2)b4!? 18 Wb3 We31 19 Wxe3 Bxe3 20 c4 Hae8 may give Black a slight advantage. 14 18 Wxe3 Sxe3 19 Xba! Tartakower pointed out that it’s necessary to stop ....)b4 here. 19...2¢3 20 Eb2 bé 21 2f3 Exf3 22 gxf3 Defending the d4-pawn with 22 )xf3 was a better option. 22...Ed8 23 4 23...b8 Neither player noticed that after 23...c6! 24 Rb3 (or 24 dxc6 Exd4 25 c5 b5 26 Ded Bc7) 24...cxd5 25 Ha “b4 26 Exa7 dxc4 27 Axc4 b5 28 a3 Ac6 29 Bb7 Axd4 30 AxbS Axb5 31 Exb5 Hdl 32 d{2 Hd2+ 33 dg3 Exa2 Black has got an extra pawn, although it’s true that there are almost no chances to win this position. 24 Sf2 S47 25 a4 c6 26 dxc6 “\xc6 27 d5 Das 28 vez Ab7 29 dg Ec8 30 Deg her? (see following diagram) 30..f5 31 Ac3 a5 32 Bb4 would reach an equal position pointed out a nice win similar to the Tartakower game continuation after 30...%e7 31 Hg2 g6 32 He2 £7? (32..Da5! might hold) 33 a5!ae Z Uh, 31 asi fs Both captures on a5 lose. 32 axb6! fxe4 33 bxa7 1-0 After 33... Ad6 34 Eb8 Excd+ 35 e5 Had 36 aBW Ded+ 37 dxed DAbor 38 Wxad Dxad 39 ddd the stranded knight is trapped and will soon be captured. Game 3 R.Fischer-J.Gloger Cleveland (Simultaneous Display) 1964 Who could have imagined that such a classical played the Sokolsky Opening? This is a very important game, with Fischer winning by a direct attack on his op- ponent’s king. Let's take a look at this theoretician as Fischer masterpiece. 1bge5 2 &b2 £6 3.e4 Qxb4g £c4 eT 5 Whs+ This move has been played more of- ten than 5 4, Ba BE 5...g6 can be met by 6 Wh4 (or even 6 WF3). The Sokolsky Gambit 6 £4 exf4 Black has little choice, as the threat was f4-£5 winning a piece 7 AB The classic miniature B.Katalymov Glllivitsky, Frunze 1959, shows what can happen if Black is not careful: 7 a3 d5 8 &xd5 c6 9 &b3 WaS 10 eS! £e7? 11 &{7+! and Black resigned. D6 BAB The direct 8 Mh4 is a reasonable al- ternative. Our analysis runs 8...Dce7 9 a3 and now: a) 9...&d6 10 AES Le5 11 dd a5 12 dxes dxc4 13 Dxg7+ Hf7 14 exto DgB 15 €5 Wd5 16 0-0 Wed 17 Sc3 We3+ (or 17... e6 18 Axeb &xeb 19 We4+ WES 20 We2 b5 21 WE3 2d8 22 g4 We5 23 We6+ {7 24 e6+, when the centre pawns march to victory) 18 &hi Wed 19 Eel Wad5 20 Ad2 with a winning position. b) 9...d5 10 &xd5 £46 11 43 6 12 &b3 Wd7 13 h3 bS 14 0-0 &c7 15 D3 a5 16 a4 &b6+ 17 Wh1 b4 18 He? Lab 19 d3 2e3 20 Med4, when Black’s king is trapped in the centre and White’s b3- bishop is very strong. 7Play 1 ba! xe3 9 Sxc3 dé 10 ha Ace7 12 12... 82! 11...d5! would have been a stronger defence. After 12 2xe7 Wxe7 13 Wxd5 <6 14 Wd4 b5 15 2d3 De5 16 Bb4 Axd3+ 17 cxd3 Wd8 18 R46 Leb 19 WS Wb6 20 Wc3 Eds 21 Ac5 We7, the outcome would still be very much in doubt. 12 0-0 Wes? A fatal mistake, cutting off his king’s escape. 12...Wd7!? 13 Dh4 Wed 14 Dxger Wxgs 15 WE Wg5 is a stronger defence. 13 Axf6! 13...5.xf5, Alternatives lead to greater trouble for Black: 13...gxf6 allows mate in one with 14 Wh6; or 13..2xf5 14 exf5 Web 15 fxg6 Wxc4 16 Whol! Wg8 (16...gxh6 17 g7+) 17 Wxf4 &e8 18 Hael+ Leo 19 Wad+ c6 20 Wb4 gxf6 21 Wxd6 with a crushing attack for White. 14 exf5 d5 Possibly 14...Ag8 is more resilient. Then 15 Sxg8 dxg8 16 fxg6 gxf6 17 gxh7+ &g7 18 WE3 bé 19 Lael Wi7 20 We4+ &£8 21 Wxf4 Exh7 22 Wxfo Wxf6 23 Exf6+ should be a winning rook ending for White. 15 fxgé gxf6 16 Wh6+ &g8 17 g7 1-0 Black loses material and his position is hopeless. Game 4 B.Katalymov-V.Muratov Novgorod 1961 This is a very complex game, in which we discuss some important the- ory. 1b4 es 2 Lb2 £63 eq xb4 4 Lc4 We7 16Black has also played 4...2\c6 5 f4 and now: a) 5...exf4 6 Dh3 Dge7 7 Dxf4 Has 8 Sexf6! BEB 9 AHS! Axcd 10 Axg7+ SE7 11 0-0 Sg8 12 Wh5! Ext6 13 Sxfo Age 14 Exg6! hxg6 15 Wxg6 dhs? 16 Aes! We7 17 Af 1-0, A Sokolsky-Strugach, Minsk 1958, is a good demonstration of White's attacking chances in this line. b) 5...d6 is a passive but solid reac- tion. We suggest 6 f5, after which Black must decide how to develop his king’s knight: bl) 6..Ah6 7 Wh5 #f8, and now Sokolsky’s suggested improvement on a game of his against Veresov is 8 a3 Ac5 9 Ac3, with ideas of castling long and dropping the bishop back to a2. b2) 6..Age7 has become more popular recently. After 7 Wh5+ g6 8 fxg6 Dxg6 9 Df3, as played in the stem game A Sokolsky-A.Gurvich, spondence 1963, the position remains unclear. corre- La 5 a3 5 c3 didn’t lead to any success for White after 5...8c5 6 We2 d6 7 d4 &b68 a4 a6 9 a5 Ba7 10 Ad2 Ah6 11 Agf3 The Sokolsky Gambit Qcé in KRichter-L Rellstab, Bad Oeyn- hausen 1939 5 e2, as given by Andrew Soltis, seems more to the point. For example: a) 5..d6 6 3! (Soltis) 6...8¢5 (or 6...2a5 7 d4 exd4 8 0-0! - presumably this is always the answer to Black’s exd4) 7 4 &b6 8 0-0, and now 8...Dh6 transposes to note ‘b’. b) 5..Dh6 6 0-0 d6 7 c3 Lc5 8 dd &b6 9 a4 a6 10 a5 Ka7 11 Wb3 Ac6 12 2)d2 D7 13 £4 was slightly better for White in the game E.Schiller-E.Richter, correspondence 1971. This is a curious mixture of the Evans and King’s Gam bit 5, a5 6 4 Acé Black needs to avoid 6..exf4? 7 Wh5+ ded8 8 Wxad Wrxed+ 9 Le2 75 Gaining more space for a possible kingside attack. As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, 4-£5 is often part of White's plans. 7...d6?! After this move Black can forget about castling. 7.612 8 WE3 We5 9 &b3 Dd4 10 17Play 1 b4! Sixd4 Wxd4 11 Ba2 De7 12 De2 Wd6 13 ®be3 is a typically unclear variation, quite common for the Sokolsky Gam- bit. 8 Wh5+ S89 Dc3 Qxc3 10 2xc3 &d7 21 Hiba b6 12 We2 dq 13 Wd3 Aho 14 hz Grabbing a pawn is a mistake: 14 Gxd4? exd4 15 Wxd4d Axf5 16 Wd3 Kes. 24...b5 15 2a2 5 16 &xd4?! 16 &d5!2, intending 16..Be8 17 &xd4 exd4 18 0-0, is stronger. 16...exd4?! 16...c4!? is perhaps a more promis ing option; for example, 17 Wf3 exd4 18 0-0 WeS 19 Df4 We5 20 a4 d34 21 Shi dxc2 22 Hb2 a6. 17 Gids ca?! Too late! Black should continue 17...Be8!? 18 0-0 DI7 19 fa a6 20 Wg3 Bes. 18 Wxda xfs 19 Wf2 Mes 20 0-0 Wes, 22 fa Ad4 22 Wha?! 22 3! is much stronger, and here 22... Wxf4 23 Wxd4 We5 24 Wxa7 Be7 25 W8+ eS 26 Wb7 We7 27 Biel Eds 28 cb Rxc6 29 Wxc6 Wd7 30 Wxb5 WxbS 31 ExbS reaches a winning rook end- game, 22...2e6? 22...¥e7! 23 c3 Db3 24 d4 We5 is more resilient and gives Black chances to hold on. 23 Dxe6+ Axeé 24 Exbs White’s active pieces and Black’s poorly placed king add up to a huge advantage for White. 24..Wda+ 25 Wi2 Wxf2+ 26 &xf2 Acs 27 Ge3 a6 28 Xb6 Dxeg 29 Lda! Oxd2 30 Eda c3 31 2b7 h5 32 Lxc3 eqe 33 da Dg5 34 Hdb1 h4 35 H1b6 h3 36 g3 Eh6 37 Lxd6 f5 38 Bdd7 Xg6 39 cg 18Every white piece is on a perfect square, and now the passed c-pawn will decide the game. 39...f4 40 gxf4 e6+ 41 Sc3 RF6 42c5 Exfa 43 6 Dc5 44 f74 xf? 45 Ext 7+ hg8 46 Rf34 Lh7 47 SF7 Aegs 48 kec2 \gs 49 Hxh3+ )xh3 50 2xe8 1-0 In two more moves White will have anew queen. Game 5 B.Katalymov-Y.Estrin Spartak Championship, Minsk 1962 Sokolsky wrote that this game was played in Minsk, although some sources give Moscow as the location. Notes in quotation marks are by Sokol- sky, translated by Yury Lapshun 1b4e5 2 £b2 f6 3. e4.d5 4 f4 exfa “A sharp variation, not yet well in- vestigated in practice.” 5 Whs+ g6 6 Wxds Wxds 7 exds 2xb4 Bie “In the game Sokolsky-Estrin (Baku, 1958) 8 e2 had been played. White The Sokolsky Gambit had prepared this bishop move as a novelty. Both continuations give White an initiative which compensates for the sacrificed pawn.” 8...065 8..d7 is what Estrin chose two years later (see Game 6). 9 De2! &d6 “The move 9..&xc2 doesn’t make any sense. After 10 xf4 the knight can jump to e6.” 10A\be3 d7 10...$xc22! is weak on account of 11 3. 22 Ad4! Hes 12 6 b3 e713 cbs! 13...a6 13...0-0-0? is met by 14 &xa7+, while against 13...0-0? White has 14 4\xc7! Axc7 15 dé+ 14 \xd6+ cxd6 15 0-0 2e4 Against 15...g5?, 16 Dxf5 Dxf5 17 g3 {3 18 dd! regains the pawn with a large initiative. Black’s position would be riddled with weaknesses. 26 Lixf4 £5 17 Df3! &xf3 17...)xd5? loses material to 18 Bxed! fxed 19 DxeS dxe5 20 Sxd5, and 17... 2xd5? 18 DxeS dxeS 19 &xe5 gives 19Play 1 b4! White the better position. 18 gxf3 g5 19 £b4 0-0-0 “White, with a pair of active bish- ops, is better.” 19...Dxf34? is a mistake, as 20 f2 De5 21 Bxb7 improves White’s pieces. 20 Sef2 D7g6 21 Nei Mhe8 22 dq “By kicking the knight from the centre, White gains the possibility of moving the rook to the e6-square.” 22..7 23 Hee! Ata Black hoped to eliminate the rook from e6, but he was disappointed.” 24 Seal ge “It’s very dangerous to capture the exchange. After 24..Dxe6? 25 dxe6 Dh8 26 Sxg5 White should win.” 25 Deas wd7 26 Ec3 £4 27 a4! “It’s necessary to involve the light- squared bishop. By advancing the a- pawn, White achieves his goal.” 27...5e7 27...a5 28 &c4! wins. 28 a5 Hc8 29 Hd3 “fs 30 Le Sd8 32 a3 Dd7 32 Keé 8 33 Kd2! ga! For a second time Black declines the exchange. Accepting the sacrifice after 33...Dxe6 34 dxe6 Dh6 35 &xd6 is ob- viously not a good idea. 34 Exe? “The best move. 34 fxg4 Dxe6 35 dxe6é DgS 36 He2 Bc3 allows Black counterplay.” 34...Sxe7 35 fxga “White should decline the pawn of fered by his resourceful opponent. Af- ter 35 He2+ &£6 36 c4!, White could count on victory.” 35...21¢3! “Because of the threat of ...g5, 20 Black gets counterplay.” 36 He2+ WF6 37 h4 2h3 38 Les “Better is 38 g5+ with subsequent 39 He7. The entry of the black knight into the battle more than outweighs the loss of the d-pawn.” 38... g6 39 &xd6 Lh2+? “A time pressure mistake. By play- ing 39..Dxd6 40 Be6+ &g7 41 Bxd6 ®xh4 Black had a chance to save the game. For example: 42 Ed7+ Gg6 43 dé Bh2+ 44 hf D3.” However, in this position we (YL and NC) believe that White can win with 45 &d5! Dd2+ 46 Sg He2 47 Le7 £3.48 Exe2 fxe2 49 $2. 40 &g1 Lxh4 41 Le5+ 1-0 “Here the game was adjourned. Black sealed the move 41..¢g5 and resigned without resuming. The diffi- cult, sharp fight in this game is very typical for the gambit variation after 1 b4.” Game 6 B.Katalymov-Y.Estrin Spartak Championship, Moscow 1964 1 b4 e5 2 Sb2 f6 3 e4 d5 4 £4 exfa 5 Whs+ g6 6 Yxds Wxd5 7 exd5 Sxba This was the second time Kataly mov and Estrin played this position against each other in a tournament game. 8 Leg We prefer this natural move to 8 e2!?, which was played in ASokolsky-Y-Estrin, Baku 1958.The Sokolsky Gambit 8...\d7 9 Dez £d6 10 Abe3 Y W 10... 774 Black has to develop. He should consider 10...b6, after which 11 £b3 a5 12 a4 g5 13 Ded Le5 14 d4 Ld6 15 Axd6+ cxd6 16 c4 De7 17 a3 Sed 18 &xd6 DES 19 cS Dd7 reaches an un clear mess. Positions that are so imbal- anced are very difficult to evaluate. 12 0-0 \e5 12 £b3 12 Bxf4? loses material after 12...g5! 13 Bad 85. 12.25 13 Deg Sea 14 dq Let’s look at this position. We can see a typical King’s Gambit, but with- out the white b-pawn. White's domina- tion of the centre - especially the e6- square - and the awkward position of the black king compensate him for his missing pawn. 14...2d8 45 Abs a g6 15...82.€2!? 16 DAbxd6+ cxd6 17 Bfel £3 18 d4 Ags 19 a3 DL4 20 Axd6+ ge 21 £2 gd 22 Dxb7 Bbs 23 “cd leaves Black a pawn down with noth- ing to compensate for White's queen- side pawn mass. 16 \xa7 £e2 17 Efe1 £.a6 18 a4 Ah6 19 bs Dhf7 20 da ga 24 ics Sxcs 22 dxc5 c6 23 dxc6 bxc6 24 Axf7+ Exf7 25 Ddb+ Sg 26 2d4 hfs 27 Haba S.c4 28 Eb6 White has improved all his pieces Now it’s time to push the a-pawn, which should decide the game. 28...2.d5 29 a5 Dh6 30 a6 Afs 31 Lf2 84 32 c4 g3 33 hxgs fxg3 34 cxd5 gxf2+ 35 Oxf2 cxd5 36 Axf5 Gxf5 37 6 Material is equal, but Black can’t stop the two passed pawns. 37...a8 38 c7 Hfc8 39 ca Ses 40 Wes #5 41 d3 gs 42 Heat Lfq 43 Sa Fixg2 44 Mf+ &g5 45 Ect Hc8 46 hbs Ed2+ 47 Se5 1-0 21Play 1 ba! Game 7 Y.Lapshun-M.Laframboise Montreal 2004 This was my final-round game at the Montreal tournament and I had to win to claim a high place. My oppo- nent was a young, talented Canadian chess master who didn’t have many games on my database. I decided that it was time to use my favourite weapon... 1b4e5 2 2b2 £6 3e4c6 A new move to me, at the time of this game at least. But with the themes of the previous games in mind, it’s easy to construct a good plan against 3...c6. 3...)e7!? is a rare alternative. Soltis gives it an exclamation mark, but it has not been explored whatsoever at high- level chess. One example, the best of a bad bunch, is the following gem: 4 Wh5+ Age 5 £4 exfd 6 Af3 dé (6...Ac6 is better) 7 Dh4 Hg8? 8 Kc4! and Black resigned, TJuscamayta —_ Zuegel- GSemmler, Bad Wérishofen 2000. 44 exfa 5 icq We7 5...d5 6 exd5 cxd5 7 Wh5+ g6 8 Wxd5 Wxd5 9 &xd5 &xb4 10 Ae? is unclear. 6 Wer 6.46 Black should speculate 6...Wxb4 7 &b3 De7 8 AEB. 7 Of3 Dd7 8 D3 Hes 9 2b3 Dh6 10 0-0-0 Se6 11 d4 “Axf3 11... Deg4 12 d5 &d7 13 dxe6 bxe6 14 bS Be3 15 bxc6 Axc6 16 AdS Axd5 17 &xd5 Hb8 18 Dd4! promises White a strong attack, something that can be verified by using Fritz. 12 gxf3 &xb3 13 axb3 a6 14 h4 \f7 15 Weal with A very difficult move to find, with 22many ideas. By playing 15 W£2, White: 1) Keeps an eye on a7-g1 diagonal; 2) Defends the h4-pawn; 3) Clears the e-file for the rook; and 4) Prepares to push the central pawns. Instead 15 h5 g5 16 hxg6 hxg6 17 Exh8 Axh8 18 Wh2 Df7 19 Wxf47? would not be a good idea in view of 19...&h6! 15...g5 16 d5! The Sokolsky Gambit Bxd62!, when 23...Axf3 24 Be6+ bf7 25 Efo+ &g8 26 Ey6+ &f7 27 Bfor gs 28 Ifg6+ is only a draw. 23...84 24 Wd2 Once again White could play 24 Axd6+! Lxd6 25 Exdé Axf3 26 Eeb+; for example, 26...2f7 27 Edd6 Bd8 28 e5 Bg7 29 Wc2 Hfs 30 Wis+ Sgs 31 WexhS WE7 32 Hg6 Dh4 33 Bxg7+ Wxe7 34 e6, winning. 24...Bxf3 ‘The aim of this move is to expose the black king and to manoeuvre the knight via e2 and d4 to f5 or e6. 16...)e5 17 Dez h5 18 “dg cxd5 19 25 We7 20 Exd5 The result of the breakthrough on move sixteen is that White's pieces have much greater scope than their counterparts. 20...c8 21 hxgs fxgS 22 Khd1 Eh7 23 a This is thematic, but already White can play simply with 23 Dxd6t! &xd6 24 Uxd6 Dxf3 25 Heo+ hf8 26 Rd5 g4 27 Bf5+ BE7 28 BxhS, which should be winning. However, White should avoid 23 wl “em eo pes =n “ 25 Uxd6? At the risk of repeating myself, 25 Dxd6+! Lxd6 26 Exd6 D7 27 He6+ G8 28 &d4 Bd8 29 Hgi b6 30 Wed Bxd4 31 Wadd Wd8 32 Wrxd8+ Dxds 33 Exbo Be7 34 Rit deB 35 Hxf4 and again White wins. 25...Dxca! 26 bxc4 Wxe4+ 27 Sb1 Wxeq+ 28 Gai? Another mistake - 28 Wd3! was bet- ter. One possible line from here is 28..Wxd3+ 29 H6xd3 fixbs 30 Eda (Black is struggling despite having five pawns for the piece) 30...8c5 31 Bel+ Be7 (31...8f8 32 Exf4 B£f7 33 Bxf3 Eec7 34 He6 is good for White) 32 xe7 £2.33 Bel dexe7 34 Bxt4 de6 35 Sd4 Sxd4 36 23Play 1 ba! Exd4 sheS 37 Hd? Bf8 38 Kdxf2 Exf2 39 Exf2 and White wins. 28... Wxf5 29 EAS 29 Bd&+ leads a draw after 29...Bx48 30 Wxd8+ df7 31 We7+ £07 32 Hel deg6 33 Eigl+ &g5 34 Wb6+ wef7 35 We7+ Be7 36 Bel de8 37 Wb8+ &f7 38 We7. 29...We2?? A blunder. 29...Wg6?? also loses, to 30 Be5+ Be7 31 Wd7+ def7 32 Bf5+ tgs 33 Wd5+ h7 34 Exh5+ Bh6 35 Exhor! Wxh6 (35...22xh6 36 Bh1+) 36 WE5+ deg8 37 Egl+ He7 38 Wxc8+. But Black can survive by playing 29..Wg4! 30 Bd8+ Exd8 31 Wxd8+ &f7 32 Hel! tgs 33 Wd5+ Bf7 34 Bed £2! 35 Egs+ £7 36 Wd8+ 2h7 37 Wd3+ deg8 38 Exg4 (38 Wd8+ deh7 is perpetual check) 38...hxg4 39 Wd8+ £.f8, when White must be con- tent with perpetual check after 40 Wg5+ ig7 41 Wd8+ Efs 42 Wd5+ He7 43 Was. 30 2d8+ Hxd8 31 Wxc2? Just one of those days! 31 Wxd8+! Sf7 32 Wh6+ Sg8 33 Bd8 was the right way. 31...2xd1+ 32 Wxda &g7 33 Wxf3 This is natural, but 33 Wd6 would 24 have been stronger: 33...&xb2+ 34 Gexb2 £2 35 Wb8+ de7 36 Wxb7+ wf6 37 Wxa6+ dag5 38 We2 h4 39 Wxf2 h3 40 WeS+ go 41 Wder dg7 42 Wd7+ Leo 43 Wigd+ defo 44 Wxf4+ deg6 45 Wh? and White wins. 33..Sixb2+ 34 dexb2 Ef7 35 dc3 ha 35...&¢d8! draws as Black is able to set up a fortress: 36 Wd5+ Ed7 37 Wxh5 Ec7+ 38 ed4 Bc6 39 dd5 dec8 40 WES+ re Wy 16 b6+! xb6 16...%d8 17 d4 blasts open the cen: tre against the black king, e.g. 17...exd4 18 0-0-0 He8 19 Ac5 He3 20 Wid We7 21 Dxb7+ Wxb7 22 Wxd4+ R47 23 Wxe3 and White wins. 17 2d6! White builds a mating net in the style of Petrosian’s famous win against Pachman from Bled, 1961: 1 Df3 c5 2 g3 Dcb 3 Bg? 26 40-0 &g7 5 d3 e6 6 e4 2ge7 7 Bel 0-0 8 e5 dé 9 exd6 Wxd6 10 Dbd2 We7 11 Ab3 Ad4 12 4 Whe 13 DeS Dxb3 14 Dc4 WhS 15 axb3 a5 16 Ad6 £f6 17 Wi3 &g7 18 Bes Eds 19 Wxfo1!! doxf6 20 ReS+ Gg5 21 Lg7! and Black resigned. 17..GaT After 17...Aa6, White wins with 18 We3+ c5 19 Bbi+ a7 20 Axaé. 18 We3+ bé A good exercise for students. It’s White to play and win: 19 Wxbé- A beautiful queen sacrifice, leading toa forced mate. 19...<2xb6 20 Hb1+ 1-0 20...#a7 21 &c5 is mate. Game 9 A.Sokolsky-A.Kotov Leningrad 1938 Il the previous games seem too haz- ardous for you, we offer now three ex- amples of the positional approach ~ the safe 3 b5 - preferred by Sokolsky him self. Notes in quotation marks are by Sokolsky, translated by Yury Lapshun. 1b4 “This game was annotated by Kan in the tournament bulletin under the title ‘Irregular Opening’. The move 1 b4 was not taken seriously. Nowadays 261b4 has earned its ‘citizenship’ and is a respectable member of the openings family.” 1...e5 2 2 b2 £6 “With this move Black assumes the obligations of a big centre and a potential weakness on the a2-g8 diagonal, which White may attempt to exploit directly by playing 3 e4!? &xb4 4 cd, the so-called Gambit Variation. In addition Black's ..£6 does nothing to further his development. White’s actual move eschews gambit play, hoping to undermine Black’s centre by positional means.” 3b5 d5 4e3 £.e6 5 dq “Better than 5 O3, which Black can answer with 5...c5.” 5..Ad7 “One year earlier, in the game Sokolsky-Rovner from the Leningrad Championship, Black played the in- consistent 5...exd4 6 Wxd4!, abandon- ing the attempt to build a big centre and rendering the move 2...{6 useless. ‘The most natural answer was 5...e4.” 6 dxes fxes 7 Af3 £d6 “Black’s pawn centre is clearly both a source of strength and weakness.” The Sokolsky Gambit EU aaa: 8 O\bd2 gf 9 c4 c6 10 Se2 0-0 11 gs Ber Alternatively 11.85 12 cxd5 exd5 13 e4! Axed 14 Adxed &b4+ and now: a) Sokolsky stopped his analysis af- ter 15 Wil? dxe4 16 Wb3+ (16 6.c4+ Gh8 17 74 Bxf7 18 &xt7 Wis gives Black the advantage), believing that 16...h8 17 ®f7+ Bxt7 18 Wxf7 would be good for White, However, looking further on 18... Wb6! 19 Wxf5 Bf8 20 Wxf8+ Lxf8 21 di 4c5 is actually better for Black since White is undeveloped. b) We believe 15 £c3! is the best move, improving on Sokolsky’s line. 27Play 1 ba! Then 15...2xc3+ 16 Dxc3 Wxg5 17 Wxd5+ Wh8 18 0-0 Hac8 19 Aed reaches an equal position. 12 Dxe6 Wxe6 13 0-0 13...2h8 “Necessary. 13...Rad8 14 cxd5 exd5 15 e4! Dxed (15...dxe4 16 Sc4!) 16 Axed dxed 17 £g4 Wg6 18 Wd5+ Gh8 19 &xd7 Exd7 20 Rael! regains the pawn and stabilizes the position.” We agree with this assessment, and our computer-aided analysis continues 20...WE5 21 Wxed Wxe4 22 Bxe4 Bc5 23 Gxe5 Bxf2+ 24 bh dg8 25 a4 Hd2 26 h3 g6 27 Ecl witha level endgame. 14 a4 Eads 15 We2 15...€4 “A move in the spirit of the posi- tion. Otherwise 16 cxd5 cxd5 17 e4! would be unpleasant. Now Black can count on the creation of an attack on the kingside, and White should be on the alert!” 16 2a3 e517 Sxd6 Uxdé “The exchange of bishops decreases Black’s attacking chances. After c4-c5 and @d2-b3-d4, White, gaining tempi, repulses Black’s pieces. During the struggle there comes a turning point when White captures the initiative.” 185 d719D\b3 Afga 20h3 to“ 20...Dh6 “Attempts to destroy White's posi tion by sacrificing don’t work: 20..f3+ 21 gxf3 (21 &xf3 exf3 - 21..Lxf3 22 bxc6 bxc6 23 Dd4 - 22 Ad4 Dxe3 23 Axes ®xc2 24 Axf8 wins for White) 21..exf3 22 Gxf3 (22 Add Wh6 23 hxgd fxe2 24 Wxe2 also wins) 22..Exf3 23 Ad4 Wh6 (23..Axe3 24 Axe Dxc2 25 bxeé bxc6 26 Habl hé is equal) 24 Axf3 Wxh3 (24.267 25 hxga Exf3 26 Bfcl wins for White) 25 WE5 Hd8 26 Wf4 and Black's attack is refuted.” 28The Sokolsky Gambit Going back to the position after 21 gxf3, we believe that Black actually can win by playing 21..2)e5!!. Y p ee & bo NS “ NSFW For example, 22 {4 Wxh3 23 fxe5 Ts! 24 Bfd1 BES 25 £4 exf3 26 Sixf3 Wexf3 27 WS (or 27 Bd2 Bdl7! 28 Ada Wxe3+ 29 Sg2 Bg5+ 30 Gh1 Wh3+ 31 Bh2 Bfl+ 32 Bxfl Wxfl mate) 27...Wxf5 28 EAL Wig4+ etc. 21 Didq We7 22 a5! Afs 23 Axfs Exfs 24 bxc6 bxc6 25 Hab1 Interesting here is the continuation 25 {4 Bcd 26 &xcd Wxc5! 27 £b3 Wxe3+. Sokolsky stops here and opines that the two connected pawns in this posi- tion provide enough compensation for the sacrificed knight. We don’t believe this to be true and offer the following line as evidence: 28 &h2 Bd6 29 £4 c5 30 BES Wd4 31 Edi Wb4 32 Hb3 Wxas 33 Wxed Ef8 34 WeS Hb6 35 Hg3 Ebf6 36 Sc6 Wht 37 Exd5 Wxf4 38 Whxta Exf4 39 Hxc5 and White wins. 25... W#B? “Better is 25.28, even though this abandons all pretence of aggression.” 26 a6 “White misses a chance to finish the struggle immediately by 26 {4! De4 (26...exf3 27 Wxf5! wins) 27 &xc4 dxc4 28 Wxc4, when Black remains a pawn down with a bad position.” 26... df7 27 Eb7!h6 “27..03xE2? 28 Uxf2 Bxf2 29 Whi! Exe2 30 Eb8 Hel+ 31 wh2 wins a queen.” 28 Sfba Gh7 “White's advantage is obvious. The task is only to find the most precise method to convert it into victory. First, it’s important to exchange one black rook to decrease the pressure on the f- file.” 29Play 1 ba! 29 Lixd7 Sokolsky believed 29 Bb8 We7 30 H1b7 Wg5!? 31 Axf7 Bxi7 32 £4 to be good for White, but we think that after 32..Wig3 33 Wel (33 fxeS Rf2 wins) 33...d4 Black has a strong attack; for example, 34 Hb7 d3 35 &g4 Bre 36 Exa7 Df3+ 37 &xf3 exf3 38 Wd2 fxg2 39 Wxd3+ Hg6 40 Bxg7+ sexg7 41 Wd7+ Bhs 42 Wd8+ Eg8 43 Wd4+ We7 and Black wins. 29...Wxf7 30 Eb7 “There are not many pieces left on the board, so it’s hard for Black to at- tack the enemy king. At the same time White threatens a rook penetration to the seventh rank capturing the pawn on a7. Here White had to play 30 &g4! xg (30...f6 31 £4; 30...Bg5 31 £4) 31 hxg4 Rg5 32 £3 Wg6 33 Bb7 with real chances for a win. The natural con- tinuation in the game gave Black a chance to force a draw by perpetual check.” 30...Wg6 31 Zxa7 Egs abW+ @h7 39 Oxf3 gxf3 40 Gel Bh2 41 Gd2 Bxf2+ 42 Sel Exc2+ 43 exc2 (2 wins for Black.” However, Frilz suggests 32 &fi!! and gives the line 32...f3+ 33 #h1 Bet 34 Wdl Axg2 35 &xg2 Exg2 36 WA Bigs 37 Zb7 WES 38 a7 Wi3+ 39 Wh2 da 40 Bb3 dxe3 41 Bxe3 Wf8 42 Exea Hd5 43 Eb4, which is winning for White. 32...Uxg3+ 33 fxg3 Wxg3+ 34 fa Wxh3+ 35 Wea Wxe3! 36 da Ye-V2 “36 @dl Wd4+ 37 &cl Ad3+ 38 Sb1 Wh4+ 39 da2 WaS+ 40 Lb1 Wh4+ 41 a2 Wa5: with a perpetual check.” Game 10 A.Sokolsky-S.Zhukhovitsky Kiev 1945 1b4e52 8b2f63b5 d54e3 2d6 4...£e6 is more often played, to hin- der the advance ¢2-c4 (see Game 9). 54.66 \f3 Ae7 7d4 32 g3 “32 g4 hS 33 Ba8 hxg4 34 h4 Bh5 35 a7 )f3+ 36 Sef Axh4 37 Uh8+ gexhs 38 30 7.47 is insufficient, because after 8 dxe5 fxe5 9 cxd5 cxd5 the defence of the central pawns is a heavy burden onThe Sokolsky Gambit Black, and 10 £e2 0-0 11 0-0 e4 sees Black being forced to concede the d4- square. 8 Dfd2 0-09 Ac3 f5 Black’s pawn advances on the king- side provide him with a space advan- tage. On the other hand, White has cre- ated pressure against d5 and has the initiative on the queenside. A lively game with chances for both sides is in prospect. 10 g3 White must prevent Black’s in- tended advance ...f4. 120...\d7 11 a4 6 12 a3 c7 A mistake - Black loses valuable time trying to save his good bishop. In addition, its counterpart now creates uncomfortable pressure on the a3-f8 diagonal. The right way was 12...2xa3 13 Bxa3 dxc4 14 Sixc4+ Ded5, occupy- ing the important central square d5. 13 a5 a6 White threatened a5-a6 to detonate the enemy pawn chain, and 13...8xa5? loses a piece after 14 2xe7 Wxe7 15 Exas. 14 b6 &b8 15 \b3 Hf7 16 “\c5 B5 17 ‘Wb3 £.d6 On 17...f4, there could follow 18 gxfd gxfd 19 Hgd+ dh8 20 cxd5 cxd5 21 D3xed!. 18 0-0-0 lg An original position! The white king is safe despite having no pawns defending it, and Black is being pushed back. 18...h6 19 cxd5 cxd5 20 h4 gq? With this move Black abandons all hope of counterplay. The immediate 20...£4 is doubtful after 21 hxg5 hxgs 22 gxf4 gxf4 23 2h3, but the option of ..£4 must be kept in reserve, not ruled out altogether. 21 Hd2 b8 22 Kez S.xcs 23 Axes Acé 24 Waz 2.d7 25 Hb2 Hc8 26 Se2 Se6 27 Daz Des 28 Ehea White concentrates his forces on the only open file and Black cannot oppose this plan. 28...\b8 29 £.b4 Lxc2+ 30 Exc2 Wd7 3a Dca The knight is heading for the c5- square. 31...c6 32 DAb3 Axb4a 32...Af6 is met by 33 Dc5 We8 34 31Play 1 ba! Wad, threatening 35 Axa6, 33 Wxb4 Wd6 34 Yaz Wxaz+ 35 xa3 Dd6 36 Acs Ne7 37 kb4 Wt7 38 Dxaé! The logical culmination of White's queenside attack. Now the b-pawn will march to its coronation. 38...bxa6 39 Lxa6 weB 40 Hc6 ed7 41 Se5 1-0 41. b7. Df7 42 &c8+ wins, as does 42 Game 11 K.Volke-V.Kupreichik Minsk 1994 1b4e5 2 &b2 f6 3 b5 d5 4e3 c5 5 dal? Arisky move, fighting for control of the centre. After 5 bxc6 Axc6 Black’s centre looks very solid. 5..exd4 5...cxd4 6 exd4 e4 7 c4 Reb 8 Ac3 Sb4 9 Wb3 £5 10 cxd5 &xd5 11 &c4, as played in U.Kreuzer-P.Turati, corre- spondence 1990, sees White maintain- ing dangerous pressure on the a2-8 diagonal. 6 exd4 cq! After this strong move White has some problems to solve: his bishops look bad, the b5-pawn is weak, and Black has more space. 7 Dc3 &ba 8 hss Forcing a weakening in Black's kingside. 8...g6 9 Wf3 a6 10 g3 10 bxa6 Exa6 only helps to improve Black's rook and weaken the a2-pawn. 10...2f5 10...axb5 11 Dge2 Acé 12 Sg2 gives White a big enough initiative for a pawn. 44a 2h3 32The Sokolsky Gambit 11 bxa6? is bad due to the reasons mentioned previously, and Black can continue with 11..2xa6 12 &g2 fe4 13 We3 Heb. Instead 11 £g2 looks like the best chance for White 11...2¢4 12 We2 axb5?! 12..,We7! 13 £3 &xe2 wins a pawn. 13 Sfa Ducking the pin and clearing e1 for the rook. Possible is 13 (3!? Ba3 14 fxe4 &xc3+ 15 &xc3 Bxc3 reaching a posi- tion with chances for both sides. 13...8.xe3 14 ixc3 De7 15 f3 25 16 &xf5 gxf5 17 Dh3 \be6 18 FE ba ba 18...Hxa2 19 Bxb5 Wd7 looks more logical. 19 Oxb4 xd4 20 ixe7 Wxe7 21 Wd2 Here White could have played 21 Wf2! defending £3. After 21...@\e6 22 Bel Hab 23 Dl4 Wd7 24 dg2 0-0 25 Bxe6 Hxe6 26 Dxe6 Wxeb 27 Bel White has more than enough play for a pawn. 21...xf3 22 Wxd5 Wea 23 Wb5+ U8 24 Ub4at Se7 24...deg8 25 Dt2 We6 26 Wxb7 Wxb7 27 Exb7 h5 should be equal. 25 O\f2 Web 26 We7+ Lgé 27 Lxb7 27...)d2+ 28 &ga f3+ 29 Sta d2+ 30h g1 he-Ya Perpetual check ends an entertain- in which both players showed their tactical skills. ing game 33Play 1 ba! Summary This is probably the most difficult chapter in the book from a tactical point of view. Players with sharp styles will relish the complications of the Sokolsky Gam bit (3 ef Axb4 4 Bed or 3 e4 d5 4 £4). Opponents who don’t know what to do can meet the same fate as mine did in Games 7 and 8, and a study of these two en counters should give you some encouragement. Players who don’t enjoy complications should look more closely at 3 b5, as seen in Games 9-11. 1b4e52 2b2 f6 3e4 3b5 d5 4 e3 (D) 4...£e6 — Game 9 4... .d6 - Game 10 4...c5 ~ Game 11 xb4 3...c6 — Game 7 a5 ~ Game 8 5 4 £4 exf4 5 Wh5+ g6 6 Wxd5 Wxd5 7 exd5 Sxb4 8 4 (D) £5- Game 5 8..Dd7— Game 6 4hcaDe7 4..We7 - Game 4 4...Ac6 — Game 4 (notes) 5 f4 (D) 5 Wh5+ — Game 3 5..d5 6 exd5 &d6 — Game 1 6...exf4 — Game 2 34Chapter Two 1b4e5 2 2b2 2xb4 Now we proceed to a popular defence for Black, 1 b4 e5 2 &b2 &xb4. Black concedes an extra central pawn to his opponent but hopes to develop quickly and start an attack with his better mo- bilized forces. The main line runs 3 &xe5 Df6 4 c4 0-0 5 ®f3. Games 12-15 examine the common ...Acé attacking the e5-bishop (before or after ...d7-d5; there are dif- ferent move orders but usually it just transposes) with subsequent plans for Black of ...%e7-f6 and/or ...2g4 or --&@£5. In all of these cases the extra centre pawn proves more useful than the lead in development. In Game 16, prodigy Ray Robson produces the interesting idea 8..Wd6, intending to swing the queen to g6 to spearhead an attack on the white king, Despite Black’s reverse in this game, it strikes us as an idea worth testing. 2...8.xb4 has been recommended as Black’s best option by some authors, and two recent books pose a strong challenge to the Sokolsky: Chess Open- ings for Black, Explained by GMs Dzindzichashvili, Alburt and shteyn, and Beating Unusual Chess Openings by IM Richard Palliser. Both of these books advocate the line 1 b4 e5 2 Qb2 &xb4 3 Oxe5 Dl6 4 3 0-05 D3 Bes! 6 c4.d57 cxd5 Dxd5. Perel- Witla, WY Here the books deviate, with Pal- liser offering the more challenging lines after 8 £b2 4\f4! or 8 £e2 Exes! 9 Qxe5 Wi6 10 14 Dxed, All this looks very dangerous, and 35Play 1 ba! to bypass the line I recommend a slightly different version of a line sug- gested by Palliser himself, namely 4 4 (Sokolsky’s preference) 0-0 5 a3! a5 6 4\f3, with the intention of 6...Be8 7 €3 d5 8 cxd5 Axd5 9 Be2 ExeS 10 Axes Wf6 11 Dc4 (the point) Wxal 12 xa5 15 13 0-0 Wb2 14 Wb3 Wxb3 15 Axb3 with a playable position. 5 a3 also avoids the main line offered in Chess Openings for Black, Explained. Of course, our analysis is untested and other possibilities may be possible for Black to pose new problems, for ex- ample the tricky 5 a3 He8!?. But White can play differently too, even avoiding 2...&xb4 altogether with 2 a3, in the style of Michael Basman (one example from many you can find in databases is M.Basman-B Kouatly, London 1979). Game 17 considers the rare idea (af- ter 3 2xe5 Ate 4 c4 0-0 5 AF3 d5 6 3) of 6...c5. We don’t like this move, as the c5-pawn can easily become a target and Black’s development is slowed by a vital tempo. Finally, for true romantics, Game 18 explores the gambit idea of 3 f4, refus- ing to take back the e-pawn. Tacticians might enjoy the ensuing bizarre posi- tions, which bear more than a passing resemblance to the ideas seen in Chap- ter One. Game 12 A.Sokolsky-Anishchenko Minsk 1959 1b4e52 Gb2 &xb4 3 Lxe5 V6 36 In principle, the exchange of a flank pawn for a central pawn favours the side gaining the central pawn, as even- tually that side will construct a strong pawn centre. In truth, Black gets an advantage in development, and for some time White must play precisely to neutralize the opponent's threats. 4040-0 5 e3 “\c6 6 & b2 d5 7 cxd5 7...2Kd5, Recapturing with the queen, as happened in the game Sokolsky- Litvinov from the same tournament, is unconvincing. White didn’t use the chance to capture on f6, and came to regret it later on: 7...Wxd5 8 &xf6 gxfe 9 De2 &d6 10 Abc3 Wad 11 Dg3 with better play for White. 8 AF3 G gag Lez Hes 100-0 Re7 The plan to transfer the bishop to £6 can’t be the strongest continuation. No better is 10...£.d6 because of 11 \c3. Probably Black has to play 10..Wd7 11 d4 Bad8, but in this case White’s position is better because of the extra central pawn and the potential pressure on the c-file. 11. d4 {£6 12 D\bd2 &f5 23 \cg \b6 14Ger Dxcq 15 &xca Has Black wants to play ...c7-c5, but he can’t get what he wants. Better is 15...Wd6 16 Wb3 2g6, and if 17 Wxb7? then 17...Bab8. 16 e2 b6 This prepares the move ...c7-c5 and prevents the threat of 17 Bc5. But al- ready White’s next move stops the movement of the c-pawn and Black must take care of the backward pawn on the c-file. 17 2a3 £e7 18 Oxe7 Wxe7 19 Wag Bac8 20 £.a6 Ecd8 Now White has time to double rooks on the e-file. 1 ba e5 2 &b2 Kxb4 22:53 £e4 22 Se2 Hc8 23 ca cé How to increase the pressure on the 6-pawn? White decides to exchange both of Black’s minor pieces which are defending this pawn 24 Dd2 Ld5 25 OF3 Oxf3 26 Oxf 6 27 h3 Hed 28 Dd2 L8 29 b3 Lids This leads to a forced loss, although even after 29...xb3 30 axb3 c5 31 b4 Bd5 32 bxe5 bxc5 33 We2 Black is losing, a pawn. 30 ©xas Eixas 31 We2 g6 32 Excé White not only wins a pawn but in vades the opponent's camp, and this quickly decides the game 32..2d8 Possibly Black had intended to play 32...Exc6 33 Wxc6 Bxa2, but in this case after 34 Wc8+ We8 35 Wh7! the threat Ec8 would force resignation. 33 Wb3 Lads 34 Macq! On the immediate 34 Hc7 there could follow 34...25d7. White occupies the open file in the proper manner, lin- ing up his two rooks in front of his queen. In this case the threat of coming, to the seventh and eighth rank is stronger. 37Play 1 ba! 34...25d6 35 We3 Exc6 36 Sxcé 2g7 37 Wea Ed6 38 ds Lf8 The exchange 38...8xc6 will lead to immediate death after 39 dxc6! Wc7 40 Wee. 39 g3 Sf7? A mistake in a lost position. 40 Hc7!1-0 Game 13 Y.Lapshun-L.Milman New York Masters 2002 Lev Milman is a very young and strong American chess master who has beaten many GMs, and in 2004 he be- came US Junior Champion. | heard his rating on the Internet Chess Club (ICC) was over 3100. He knew his openings very well, so I decided to play 1 b4. 1b4e5 2 &b2 Oxb4 3 Oxe5\f6 4 c4 The best, according to Sokolsky. 4 c4 tries to control the centre and Black can only play ...d7-d5 at a cost of ex- changing his only central pawn. 4...0-0 5 DF3 The suggestion of inserting 5 a3 here, which is a measure against early ..Zle8 lines (instead of ...Ac6), was dis- cussed in the introduction to the chap: ter. 5.6 6 &b2 d5 7 e3 Sga 8 cxd5 Axd5 9 2e2 are os » “9 nae More usual is 9...Ze8 10 0-0 We? and now: a) 11 We2 Ead& was agreed drawn in G.Kochetkov-A.Kovalev, Minsk 1996. Note here that 12 d4? allows 12...xe3! 13 fxe3 Wxe3+ 14 Hf2 &xf3 15 &xf3 Axd4 when Black is winning. b) 11 a3 Rad 12 Wa4!? (12 We2) 12.. Wed 13 Wxed Exed 14 Eel Be7 15 4 2d8 16 Dc3 Abo 17 h3 KES 18 Lb5 gave White an edge in the endgame due to his strong centre in M.Parry- W.Velker, correspondence 1997. 20 0-0 ad8 11 a3 &.d6 22 “\c3 \xc3 13 &xe3 Des Chances are equal. 14 Oda Wha 15 f4 Sxe2 16 Wxe2 gq 47 h3 \h6 The only way. 17...\f6 18 £5 Wh5 19 Wxh5 AxhS 20 g4 Af 21 Rxf6 gxf6 22 d4 Efe8 23 £2 would be clearly bet- 38ter for White due to the strong position of his knight. 18 Wf3 5? 18.6 would have been a better choice. 19 bs Black can’t defend a7 and b7 at the same time, so White wins a pawn. 19...We7 20 \xa7 &b8 22 \b5 \f5 22 a4 Dd6 23 Dxdé Exd6 24 Difba In this position I was trying to at- tack the weak b- and c-pawns. 24...b6 25 Sb5 2c7 26 Haba Hdd8 27 Wb7 2b8 28 Web Zfc8 29 Wt3 Has 30 ha 1 ba e5 2 Rb2 Rxb4 A waiting move — 1 wasn’t sure at this moment whether to advance the e- pawn or the g-pawn. 30...2d8 30..Bxa4 31 &xg7! Wed 32 Wxed Exe4 33 4c3 still leaves White a pawn ahead. 32 Wb7 EdbB And here 31...2xa4 32 Bxb6 Hda8 33 B6D5 is good for White. 32 We6 Ec8 33 WF3 Nd8 34 Kas Wd6 35 da Sooner or later ] had to get rid of this weakness. 35...Wd5 36 Wxd5 Zixd5 37 a5 bxas 38 xa5 2d6 39 23 Much stronger is 39 Hci! Bc8 40 .&b6, when White wins a second pawn. 39...xal+ 40 2xal #5 41 Yg1 GFT 42 Eb7+ Re7 43 Lf2 cxd4 44 &xd4 g6 45 Skf3 eG 46 g4 fxga+ 47 hxga hs 48 g5?! Here 48 ded! Ba5 49 £5+ gxfS+ 50 gxfS+ dd6 51 f6 2F8 52 Bb8 Hho 53 Hh8 &g5 54 f7 is a simpler win for White. 48..Ea5 49 Hb6+ &f7 50 Zb7 Web 52 Ribot 7 52 Les Na? 39Play 1 b4! 52...2xg5 loses after 53 Xb7+ we8 54 Hg7 £c755 Bxge. 53 f5! Oxgs 53...gxf5 54 g6+ dg8 55 Eb8+ 28 56 £46 is also hopeless. 54 fxg6+ Se7 55 g7 a8 56 Lg6 56 Bb7+ Geb 57 £b8 is a bit more ruthless. 56...dxe3 57 g8W Lxgs 58 Sxgs Oc5 59£g51-0 Game 14 Y.Lapshun-M.Sinn World Open, Philadelphia 2003 This game was published by Joel Benjamin in the magazine New in Chess My opponent sacrificed his rook, and my king survived all the dangerous threats. 1bg e5 2 Lb2 Sxb4 3 Lxes DFE 4 ca 0-0 5 Df Dcé6 6 &b2 HeB 7 e3 d5 8B exds Axd5 9 Se2 9...B.xe3? This looks like a very good sacrifice, but in reality it doesn’t work. 9...@g4 transposes back to Game 12, 40 while 9...2e7 is discussed in Game 15. A further possibility for Black is 9...&.£5; for example, 10 0-0 &£8 11 a3 a6 12 d4 h6 13 Dbd2 Abs 14 Bel Wa7 15 h3 Had8 16 ed x4 17 Sixcd Bed 18 Dd2 Lg6 19 Db3 Led 20 Ad2 %-%, G.Baranov-L.Yudasin, Chigorin Me morial, St Petersburg 1998. 10 fxe3 ixe3 11 Yb3 At the board it seemed to me that this was the best way to proceed, and I still think this is the case. 11 Wel Dxg2+ 12 &f2 Od, as played in E.Engelhardt-J.Rollwitz, Berlin 1995, is a known route to an advantage for White. 11...0\xg2+ 12 Sda! 12 %ef2 £3! is less convincing for White, as Black gets a strong attack. 12...Re6 13 Wd3 We7 14 dg fa 14..2d8 is met by 15 Axcé bxc6 16 Wg3. Another game continued 14...2.d5 15 DES We5 16 Bf Ed8 17 &xg7 2xd2 18 D\xd2 Ab4 19 hor sexg7 20 We34 $68 21 We8+ we7 22 Bxt7+ Kxi7 23 Wxt7+ Sd6 24 Wher d7 25 Qea+ WES 26 &xfS1 &e8 27 WE7 mate, H.Muri-1 b4 e5 2 Rb2 Rxba J.Bjorn, correspondence 1993. 15 Dxc6 bxcé 16 Wd4 &b3+ 17 axb3 Wxe2+ 18 wic2 1-0 Wi, oo Ae Z Ey After playing 18 @c2 1 left the room When I came back my opponent, the set and the clock had all disappeared. Five minutes later Mr. Sinn came back and announced his resignation. Game 15 Y.Lapshun-D.Wang Kapuskasing 2004 Wang is a young talent who had al- ready drawn against a Grandmaster in this tournament. He had prepared for my favourite opening, but only for the first eight moves. We tepeated the moves to my game against Sinn, but Wang was not bold enough to sacrifice his rook. 1b4e5 2 Sb2 Lxb4 3 Bxes F6 4 cg 0-0 5 Af3 Acé 6 &b2 d5 7 cxd5 “Axd5 8 23 He8 9 Se2 Se7 This is rare, but it’s the same ap- proach that Anishchenko used against Sokolsky (see Game 12). 100-0 26 11.4 2f5 12 bd2 Acba 13 Ab3?! 13 Hed, protecting the e3-pawn, is stronger. Now after the tactics the re- sulting position is unclear. 13...2c2 14 Hea Acxe3 15 fxe3 Axe3 16 Wd2 Oxf1 17 Exfa Keg 18 Oc4 bE?! This is weakening, and in the future Black could have problems with the squares c7 and 6. 18...c6!?_ looks stronger. 19 Wf4 &xf3 20 Wxf3 c5 21 bs 21...Be7? 21..8e6 22 Hdi Bd6 would have been preferable to the text. 22 Hdal 4 41Play 1 ba! 22...cxd4 23 Axd4 &xd4+ 24 Exd4 Wc8 25 B04 Whs 26 Bed (5 27 Eh4 Wes 28 Wh3 Wg6 29 Bhé! is a neat win for White. 23 Sxcg Ke8 24 Od3 We8 25 Ga Sha 26 g3 Ke3 27 Wf2 Web 28 gi gs 29 d5 Wg4 30 Sf1 Mf8 31 Aca Wd7 32 £a3 Hes 33 Wi3 Hd8 34 dé Ge3+ 35 wha Ses The d-pawn goes, but the attack rages on. 36 Ob2 He3 37 Wd5 Ze6 38 Acq Wxd6 39 Wxd6 Hexd6 40 Exf7 Hd1+ 41 gz B8d2+ 42 Sh3 hs 42...b5 43 Geb Hd6 44 Bf6+ Bxe6 45 Exe6 Ed2 46 Ee? is also winning. 43 Dxg7+ Look how the white rook and two bishops are building a mating net 43...G18 44 216 Le8 a5 Of7+ SFB 46 e6 bes 47 Exa7 1-0 Game 16 Y.Lapshun-R.Robson World Open, Philadelphia 2007 In this game I was playing against 42 12-year-old Senior Master, Ray Robson, who according to Kasparov is an ex- tremely talented player. 1 had no time to prepare for him and decided to use my favourite opening weapon. 1b4a This move made him smile, and he thought for about one hour over his opening ten moves. 2...€5 2 2b2 Sxb4 3 Lxes 6 44 0-0 5 DF3 Ac6 6 &b2 d5 7 cxd5 Axd5 8 e3 In this theoretical position my op ponent played a dangerous move which nobody had previously used against me: 8...Wd6? I thought I had remembered seeing, 8...Wdé6 in some book, and that the idea was to play at some point ...Wg6 with pressure on the g2-pawn. I had no idea what to do, so 1 chose a waiting move which decides where Black’s dark- squared bishop goes and protects the b4-square - this could be useful in the future. 9 a3 £a5 10 Se2 I think 10 We2 i )c3 and discouraging ..Wg6. best, preparing10... g6 11 0-0 2h3! Forcing me to knight. 124e1 As Korchnoi said, “I’m preparing my pieces for the next game!” This backward move actually contains a trap: on 12..Hfe8? there follows 13 Shs! We5 14 £4 We7 15 WES, winning material 12...25 13 Wea undevelop my Preparing to gain some freedom with 4c3, and also laying another trap. 13...Efe8 13... 2xb1?! 14 Exbl &xd2?? is los- ing because of 15 Wxd2! Wxb1 16 Ad3 Wa2 17 Aci Whi 18 2d3, trapping the queen. 14 204 Ab6 14...Bad8 looks more natural. 15 &b5 Had8 Black can try to win a pawn with 15...8xb1?! 16 Wxbl Wxbl 17 Bxb1 &xd2, but here 18 f3 Ba5 19 Lxcé bxc6 20 Hbcl AdS 21 Exc gives White a slight advantage. 16 23 Trying to release the pressure, but 1 b4 e5 2 Rb2 Axb4 16 d4is more natural 16...le7 17 d4 a6 18 Se2 Ad5 19 Gxas O\xas Even though almost all my pieces were on the first rank, my position wasn’t worse and I was ready to attack. 20 Dd2 £d6 21.04 During the game I felt this was the best defence to the idea of ...Bc6, be- cause my queen needed more freedom. 22...h5 Going for checkmate! Here I was really beginning to worry over the safety of my king. 22 £3 Dfé 23 Waz ha 24 er { aw ae eae Creating my first threat: winning a pawn after Exc7 and Wxd6. 24..De8 With this and his following move my opponent seemed to be preparing his pieces for the next game too! Right now he was experiencing some time pressure because he had spent too much of it in the opening. 25e4! The beginning of my attack in the centre, Black's initiative has disap- peared and it was a time for him to 43Play 1 ba! trade pieces with 25...2.24. 25....2.¢8?! 26 e5 Now White has a clear advantage. 26...2dd7 27 £e4 Whé 28 fa SFB Defending the rook on e7 and thus threatening to capture the d4-pawn. 29d5 An unbelievable position, in which all of Black’s pieces have problems moving. 29...f5 This is the only way to complicate the position, but White’s next move renders Black’s position hopeless. 30 d6! cxd6 Or 30...Axd6 31 exd6 Bxd6 32 £43, with a good extra piece. 31 Sxf5 Ac7 32 Exc7? White could win easily with 32 &xc8!, but in my calculations | missed that after 32...ixcl 33 Wxcl Ec7 White has 34 Wb1! Exc8 35 Wf5+ and Wxc8. 32...2xc7 33 2xc8 Xxc8 34 Wha! Winning a couple of pawns. 34...2)6 35 Wxb7 2c7 36 Wxa6 dxes 37 fxe5+ Le7 38 “\ef3 h3 39 gxh3 Yxh3 40 Weg Dxe5? Blundering, although the position was already losing 41 Wba+ dB 42 Wb8+ we7 43 Hea Wet 44 &f2 1-0 Black can’t save the knight. This is a good example of a white pawn storm in the centre prepared by careful open- ing strategy. Game 17 B.Katalymov-S.Giterman USSR Championship, Novgorod 1961 1bges 2 £b2 Sxba 3 Sxes 6 4 OF3 0-05 c4.d5 6 e3 6 cxd5 Dxd5 7 €3 DAc6 8 &b2 would transpose to previous games in this chapter. 6...05 6..Ac6 7 Bb2 HeB 8 cxd5 Dxd5 9 &e2 would reach Games 14-15. 7a3 Gas 8cxd5“\xd5 9 Wer White must try to prove that in the middlegame two pawns in the centre are better than two pawns on the edge of the board. 9...2)¢6 10 & b2 441 b4 e5 2 &b2 Rxb4 10 Wxc5? Dxe5 11 DAxeS Keb 12 Wb5 Ee8 13 Ac4 Who 14 Ea2 Abo 15 AxadS &xa2 wins for Black. 10...We7 11 £.d3 h6 12 0-0 2e6 13 Eca Sib6 14 \c3 Kad8? This move allows White to gain the two bishops and saddle Black with weak doubled pawns on the b-file. 14...Dxc3!? 15 Wxc3 f6 16 Led DaS 17 S.c2 Hfd8 looks about equal. 15 ag £g4 16 Yea \as 17 Kaba Hc8 18 h3 £e6 19 Axb6 axb6 20 Af3 ca. 22 Sh7+ GHB 22 Daa 22 Red!? Db3 23 Hal Bfds 24 Dda ADxd4 25 Axd4 Wxa3 26 Lxb6 might be a slightly better approach. 22...€37! Trying to win the h7-bishop, but this allows a tremendous attack on the black king. Instead 22...2b3! 23 Dxe6 fxe6 24 Hdl Wh4 25 (3 b5 26 £4 is un- clear, as Black enjoys some counterplay on the queenside. 23 dxc3 g6 24 Sxg6 fxg6 25 c4 White has a crushing attack. 25...\f6 26 Wxgé Dixca 27 Wxh6+ ogs 28 Wg6+ Gh8 29 Gar F777 Losing at once, 29...d7!? puts up more resistance, although after 30 Hb4 Ded 31 Wh6+ Sg8 32 Exc8 Axc8 33 DAb3 E7 34 Bld Re8 35 Rc3 Océ 36 Ab4 Wd8 37 Wh7+ web 38 DAd4+ d5 39 We2 a4 40 e4+ White is winning easily. 304)xe6 Wxe6 31 Xb5! 1-0 There is no defence to 32 Bh5+. Game 18 Y.Lapshun-R.Kaufman National Chess Congress, Philadelphia 1999 National Master Raymond Kaufman 45Play 1 ba! is the son of IM Larry Kaufman. In the first round of this tournament they were somehow paired against each other. Larry Kaufman protested, and they were repaired, As a result, both of them lost: Raymond to me and Larry to the young Canadian player Zhe Quan. 1bge5 2 2b2 Oxb4 3 fal? exfa An adventurous move. We prefer 3...d6 4 fxe5 dxe5 5 Bxe5 Df6 6 Af 0-0, as played in a few games, which we feel is slightly better for Black. 4 S.xg7 What 5 g3 fxg3 6 Sg2 gxh2+7 Sf1 hxgi+ Several players chuckled when they saw this position. 8 xga Wg3 9 OxhB ds I think it’s better to save the h-pawn by playing 9...h6. 10 Exh? “\e7 10...2)c6?? loses to 11 Bg7!; for ex- ample, 11..8c5+ 12 e3 Bxe3+ 13 dxe3 Wxe3+ 14 fl Wear 15 Wi Welt 16 HF2 Wxc2+ 17 We2+ Wxe2+ 18 dxe2 and White wins. 11 2f6 \g6 12 e3 2ga 13 Wa “\d7?? Black should play 13...2e6. 14 Aca? 14 Bh4! Oxh4 15 Wxi7+ Sd8 16 Weg8+ D8 17 Wg5+ we8 18 Wxh4 was the right way 14...06 15 2b1 a5 16 a3 &d6 17 Exb7 17... \de5?? Another big blunder. 17..Agf8 18 Eh6 Dxf6 19 Wxf6 Le6, although still good for White, was preferable to the text move. 18 e271 Another slip. 18 Sxe5 Dxe5 19 Bbxf7 Dl3+ 20 Ext3 &xf3 21 Wxk3 Wxl3 22 &xf3 would have finished Black off. 18...2xe2 19 Wxe2 gq?? Three strikes and you are out 19...&xa3 would have kept things go- ing a while longer. 20 Eh3 The queen can’t escape. 20...Wxh3 1-0 461 b4 e5 2 &b2 Kxb4 Summary The reader should devote most of his or her attention to the lines stemming from 5...Ac6 (or 5...d5 followed by ...c6), as it’s the most popular way for Black to play and several books recommend this as a good line against the Sokolsky. Robson's 8...Wd6 with the idea of ...!/g6 is worth studying, and this move will appea! to opponents with aggressive styles of play. 1bge5 2 Sb2 Sxb43 Sxes 3 £4 (D) - Game 18 3.6 4.64 430-0 5 f3 Hes - chapter introduction 4...0-0 5 AF3 5 a3 ~ chapter introduction 5... D6 5...d5 6 €3 c5 (D) - Game 17 Ee8 6 e3 d5 - chapter introduction 6 &b2 d5 7 cxd5 Dxd5 8 e3 (D) HeB 8...Wd6 — Game 16 8...g4 9 Ber 9...We7 - Game 13 9...e8 — Game 12 9 Se2 Be7 - Game 15 9...Bxe3— Game 14 47This chapter deals with a very common approach by Black, the King’s Indian structure. Black eschews an immediate tactical clash and instead adopts a sound formation with which he or she will no doubt be very familiar. We also include the Old Indian sys- tem under the King’s Indian umbrella since many players like to feint with an early ...d6 before either fianchettoing their dark-squared bishop or playing .&e7. Games 19-22 pretty much run the gamut of Old Indian structures. There is one with an early ...e5-e4 by Black, one without, one with a massive space grab of ...e5-e4, ...f5, ..c6 and ..d5, and finally one in which White plays d4-d5 himself. Lapshun-Reeder (Game 23) shows an attempt by Black to imitate Smys- lov’s ...&e6 defence to the English Opening, but White's early space gain proves quite useful. The next six games explore the possibilities of standard King’s Indian play by Black. Games 25, 27 and 29 feature the idea of queenside castling (or even no castling) by White in an attempt to evade Black’s kingside play and to counterattack on that very flank, and this plan is very promising It is surprising that Capablanca’s double fianchetto approach in his game against Réti is not used more often by modern players. Perhaps they are influ- enced by the result, the Cuban’s first loss in serious play since 1916! At any rate, don’t pass up on this fine game Our final game shows a modern exam- ple of the Double Fianchetto defence in a contest between two of Canada’s best players in recent history. It’s not flashy, but it’s worth studying. Game 19 A.Sokolsky-S.Flohr USSR Championship, Moscow 1953 1b4e52 2b2d6 48The most solid continuation, in Flohr’s style. 3caas It’s hardly worth hurrying the b- pawn, as the move b4-b5 is part of White's plans. 4b5 f6 53 Re7 The development of the bishop on €7 is a little passive. Black was luckier in the games Sokolsky-Kholmov and Sokolsky-Lilienthal from the final of the 2ist USSR Championship, where the continuation 5...g6 followed by 6...2.g7 was more in the spirit of the King’s Indian Defence. 6 DfZ 0-0 7 Lez c6 8 “\c3 Ee8 9 0-0 eq Too active ~ Black is not yet devel- oped enough. 9..Abd7 intending 10... D8 is stronger. 10 Ad4 c5 Black kicks the knight out of the centre, but loses the use of the c5- square. 10...Wc7 is a better option. 11 Dc2 A\bd7 12 d3 The natural reaction. By eliminating the central e4-pawn, White opens the d-file and creates pressure on the semi- Black Plays ...e5 and ...d6 open file and the weak dé-pawn. 12...exd3 13 Wxd3 Des If 13..Db6, 14 e4! Leb 15 Hie3 stops the advance of the d-pawn, after which Black remains cramped. 14 Wd2 2e6 15 Aas The knight on a3 is poorly placed, but this disadvantage is only tempo- rary. The defects in Black’s position are more serious: a weak d6-pawn and the invasion square d5. The knight on e5 can be easily pushed away. 15...265 16 £3! Insisting on the advance e3-e4. 16...\ed7 17 e4 Sig6 18 Nada \b6 19 Dez 19..d5! This pawn sacrifice is the best prac- tical chance. If 20 cxd5 S46 Black ac quires dangerous pressure on the h2-b8 diagonal. Also, after 20 Qxd5 bxd5 21 exd5 &d6 22 {4 Ded Black gains the initiative. 20 exd5 2d6 21 £4 We7 22 g3 Lh 23 ez 23 &xh5? is met by 23...Axc4. 23...2xe2 Not 23...We7? 24 O\f5. 49Play 1 ba! 24 Dxe2 Deq Or 24..We7 25 ALS Wxe2 26 Wxe2 Exe2 27 &xf6 Dxcd (27...gxf6 28 Dxd6) 28 &xg7 Bxa2 29 &f6 with the threat of 30 Hct, and here retreating the bishop is impossible because of d5-d6. 25 Wd3 Wd7 26 gz hs 27 Ac3 DFE 28 Nba White is threatening 29 &xf6. After 28..Ded4 29 Dd2 the exchange of the knight on e4 will be inevitable. 28...g429 Dxga Wxga 30 2ic3 5 Preventing “\e4, but weakening e6. By sacrificing a pawn, White's rook is able to reach this square. 31 Edea! Exe1 32 Exe1 Sxf4 33 Eeé! Not 33 El 2d6 34 Wxf5 Axed. 33...8¢7 No better is 33...d7 34 h3 Weg5 35 De2 Bc7 36 d6 Abb (36...Ld8 37 &cl) 37 Wd5 dh7 38 Scl Wd8 39 Wxf5+, and White wins. 34.d6 2d8 35 h3! Wxcq 35...We5 36 HeS g6 (36...2f6 37 Bxf5 We6 38 Ad5!) 37 He8+ #7 38 We2 WF6 39 Ged! is crushing. 36 Wixfs 26 50 37 Lixf6! gxf6 38 Wg6+ fs 39 Wxfe+ wey Alternatively 39...¢g8 40 Wg6+ Sf8 41 Scl! WE7 42 Bh6+ Se8 43 Wed+ SAB 44 WeS Hc8 45 Ded Dd5 46 Kd2, witha winning attack for White. 40 Wh6+ Wes 42 eq Ws 42 Wh8+ 1-0 The game is up. 42..¢d7 43 Wp7+ heb 44 We7+ ef5 45 Wi6+ dxed 46 WES is mate. Game 20 B.Katalymov-A.Suetin USSR Team Championship, Moscow 1959 1 ba e5 2 b2 d6 3 c4 £7 4/103 C65 3 Dd7 6 da “\gt6 7 \f3 0-08 Sez a69 Wb3 b5 10 c5 a5 11 dxe5S dxe5 12 a3 We7 13 0-0 White enjoys a comfortable posi tion. Black's e5-pawn is a target, while White's c5-pawn claims considerable space on the queenside. Also, in the future White may be able to attack the weakling on cé.EvEZ 13...ag?! Releasing the tension on the queen- side only helps White to add more pressure to the other wing. 14 We2 Be8 15 Deg Dxeq? 15...Ad5!? 16 Hfdl £5 17 Bc3 Axc3 18 &xc3 e4 19 Ad4 De5 would restrict White to a small edge. 16 Wixe4 Ha7 17 &xes 17 &d3 g6 18 Bxe5 DxeS 19 Wxed Wd8 20 Bad1 &f6 21 Wd Hd7 22 Bc2 2b223 Ad4 &xd4 24 exd4 would leave White with an extra pawn, but also a hard task to convert it into a full point. 17...2f6 18 Sxc7 Lxe4 19 &d6 &xar 20Exa1 Black Plays ..e5 and ...d6 Black can’t defend the c6-pawn White’s active pieces are more than enough compensation for an exchange, and White soon reaches a completely winning endgame. 20...He8 21 dq &b7 22 £f3 Abs 23 Rxb8 Hxb8 24 Lxcé Laé 25 £4 S826 ef2 g6 27 Eda Lc7 28 £43 ScB 29 6 Ebb7 30 Xd8+ g7 31 d4 Lbs 32 Acé6 46 33 Sxbs The beginning of the end 33..Ha8 34 Gc6 Hab 35 bs Haxcé 36 xc S.b7 37 e4 &g7 38 Nd6 f5 39 e5 1-0 Game 21 Y.Lapshun-X.Vila Gazquez Barcelona 2007 It was very important for me to de. feat this talented Spanish IM. A win would give me a shot at a GM norm and an opportunity to play a GM on the top board next round. A perusal of my opponent's repertoire convinced me that the Sokolsky was my best bet. 1bge5 2 Gb2 d6 3.4 f5 4.63 165 3 £e7 6 \c3 0-0 52Play 1 ba! Black has shut out the Sokolsky bishop and prepares to attack in the centre and on the kingside. White must counter in the centre at once. 7d4e48 Dd2c69d5 The routine continuation 9 &e2 d5 10 a3 &e6 11 0-0 Abd7 leaves Black with an easy life. I refused to allow this! 9...xd5 10 Dxd5 Dxd5 11 cxd5, the text move, Black can reach that same position with 14...2xb2 15 Wxb2 Dab 16 Sxa6 Exa6 17 Wxb4 Ha5 18 Waa. 14../d7 15 &xf6 Ext 15...xf6 16 Wxb4 Dxd5 17 Kc4 Leo 18 Wb3 WaS 19 Hdl Bfc8 20 AFI Exe4 21 Wxe4 Afa 22 We2 Ad3 23 a4 is again unclear, and roughly equal. 16 Yxb4 ty aA wae Let’s evaluate this position. The d5- pawn, though a weakling, offers White space and attacking chances, and White can also dream of getting a knight to e6. Black wants to nab the d5- pawn, attack the king, and sink a knight into d3. Both sides have chances for success. 12...0.f6 12 Wb3 aS Black tries to gain the c5-square for his knight. I was afraid of this move, but Black’s undeveloped pieces did make me believe that my position was playable. 13 2e2 axb4 14 0-0 14 Wxb4 leads to an unclear posi- tion after 14..2a6 15 &xa6 &xb2 16 Wxb2 Hxa6 17 0-0 Ba5 18 Wad4. After 16...Zh6 This is probably the start of the bad plan, which will eventually cost Black the game. My opponent was dreaming of mating my well-guarded king, while leaving his queenside valuables in the lurch. Not all dreams can come true... 173 1 wasn’t sure about this move, but I couldn’t find another way to stop 18...Wh4. 17...D6 17...b6! improves Black's bishop and defends his queenside. After 18 Ab3 &b7 19 4)d4 Bf6 both sides have win- ning chances. 18 Efca Wd7 Accepting the pawn sacrifice is 52rather dangerous. After 18...2xd5 19 Lcd £e6 20 Wb3 Dc7 21 Wxb7 Hes 22 Qb3 White's passed pawn and active pieces promise him some advantage. 19 Wbe Black Plays ...e5 and ...d6 good winning chances. 21 fxe3 Wes 21...8xh2?? loses a piece to 22 Bxc8+! Exc8 23 &xh2 22 Wda ow % YX o # During the game I thought that this was a winning move because of my many threats on the queenside. The best defence is not always a sacrificial counterattack! Black should instead play 19...¢2h8! avoiding all the threats, and after 20 cd We8 21 Bc2 )d7 22 We7 Ac5 he can probably hold the queenside. Black can also try 20...f4!? (instead of 20...We8), although following 21 exf4 Wh3 22 fl &g4 23 £3 exf3 24 Re2 Ded 25 Wxb7 Eck 26 Hel £5 27 Wxc8+ &xc8 28 Bxed kegs 29 Bf2 White passed pawn and well-placed pieces should give him a big advan- tage, albeit in a complicated position. 20 exf4 e3?? Black could show more resilience, although probably not save the game, with 20..&h8. Following 21 Wb5 Wf5 22 a4 Wxd5 23 Wxd5 Axd5 24 Axed White would have an extra pawn and This is the sad end-product of Black's reverie. White covers every- thing and enjoys two extra pawns. 22...8f5 23 Ke7 Bag 24 Heq Has 25 eg S.d7 26 23 Dg4 27 Sxga xg4 28 Ec3 Whs 29 fa Nas 30 hc7 Ng6 31 f5 Ugs 32 Baca He8 33 £c8 1-0 Reality had finally set in, and Black resigned. Game 22 A.Sokolsky-S.Samarian Correspondence 1958 1bge52.2b2d63 4 White's goal is to capture space on the queenside. Against this Black in- tends to adopt the Dutch structure, hoping to attack by advancing the pawns on the kingside. 3...f5 4 e3 O16 5 DFS Le7 6 dg ea 7 53Play 1 ba! 8bs White will play a further a2-a4 to continue the queenside pawn attack, Possible is 8 Wb3 c6 9 Ac3 0-0, as in the game Sokolsky-Suetin (Minsk, 1955), where White also had to play 10 a4 and later b4-b5. 8...c6 9 a4 0-0 wo] N AYN) a Y 20 Wb3 This move is useful in order to pres- sure the d5-square and defend the e3- square, preventing a possible break- through with 10...f4 11 exf4 e3. 10...2e6 12 A\c3 \bd7 Let's evaluate this complicated position. White pressures the centre and successfully continues the 54 successfully continues the queenside attack. For Black it's harder to develop kingside activity because he has to de- fend the centre. 12 Sez 12...0512 In trying to get rid of the unpleasant pressure on the centre, Black decides to temporarily sacrifice a pawn to stabi lize the position. But, as the game shows, opening the c- and d-files is in White’s favour. 12...We8 is better, to which White would answer 13 £a3. 23 Sixds “ixds 14 cxd5 £F715 Ee1 Nothing comes of 15 £4 because of 15...\b6. It’s dangerous to try holding on to the pawn with 15 dxc5 xc5 16 We3: after 16..2f6 17 Wxc5 &xb2 18 Eb1 Hc8! 19 Wxa7 &c3 White gets into a difficult position. 15...He8 16 0-0 ‘\b6 17 dxc5 xd5 18 Reg On 18 Efd1, Black could answer 18...Df4! 19 &c4 De2+ winning the ex- change. After the text move, 18...\f4 is not good because of 19 &xf7+ Bxf7 20 exfa Wxd2 21 Bidl Wxf4 22 Bd7 with an advantage for White.18...8xc5 19 Sfda Bc? Black is trying to play ...2d7, getting rid of the unpleasant pin on the d-file The following unexpected strike pre- vents this idea, 20 4)xeq! Exca! 21 Wxc4 fxe4 22 Wxeq White gives up two pieces for a rook and two pawns. It’s difficult to call this a sacrifice, as the material is approximately level. The benefit of this continuation is obvious: the pin on the d-file is maintained. Black has to search for a way to release his knight. 22...Wd6 23 Wega Whe Probably the best. 23...5£6 is bad because of 24 Exd6 “xg4 25 Bd7, while against 23...6.6 White answers 24 £xf6 Wxf6 25 Wd4 Wxd4 26 Exd4 reaching a winning endgame. It’s difficult to see how Black can prevent the threat of e3- ed (after g3) with a subsequent occupa- tion of the seventh rank. 24 Wd7 e625 Wxb7 Wha Finally Black has threats on the kingside, but White can defend and keep the material advantage. 26 Xd2 Of course not 26 g3?, because of Black Plays ..e5 and ...d6 26...Wh5 27 Exd5 W3! and Black is winning. On 26 Ef1 or 26 Bc2, Black replies 26...WWxa4 26...Wb4 27 Ecda “ib6 28 &c3 Yaz 29 Wy i This centralization _ coordinates White’s forces and clinches the win. 29...8f7 Or 29..%b3 30 £b2! We5 31 Ect Weg5 32 £4! ete. 30 Lb2 Wes 31 Mca Wha 32 Wd4 Wxdg 33 Sxd4 2b4 34 Edc2 1-0 If 34...2xa4, the easiest way to win is 35 Bc7. Game 23 Y.Lapshun-A.Reeder World Open, Philadelphia 2003 If you want to play 1 b4, you need to know something about the King’s Indian Defence. This game shows how White can deal with Black’s typical pawn storm. 2 b4 e5 2 2 b2 d6 3c4 £e6 4 e3 d75 OB £5 6 Dc3 g6 74 White leaves the paths of the Réti 55Play 1 ba! Opening and enters an unorthodox King’s Indian set-up. 7... 287 8 dS S479 Dez h6 10 e4 “\e7 11 Wc2 0-0 12 0-0 £4 We have reached a typical King’s Indian battle scenario. White is trying to break through on the queenside while Black wants to checkmate the white king on the other wing, 13 ©)d2 g5 14 Hacah515¢5 White must not delay this essential line-opening - the pawn sacrificed is not too important. In fact, after 15...dxc5?! 16 Dad exb4 17 Wxc7 b6 18 B.b5 Dc5 19 WxdB Bfxd8 20 Axc5 bxe5 21 Bxc5 Hac8 22 Bfcl Bxc5 23 Bxc5 White has regained his pawn and dominates the queenside. 15...g4 16 f3 \g6?! Maybe Black did not like 16...g3 be- cause of the obvious reply 17 h3, but then Black could bring his knight to h4 with the idea of a later sacrifice on g2. 17 fxg4 Dha 18 Oda gs 19 fz White needs more pieces to defend his king. 19...\f6 20 Wda hxg4 21 2xg4 Shs 22 M3 Oxf34 23 Sxf3 DE 26 Mc3 L725 2xhs xh5 26 Wt 1g7 27 cxd6 There is not enough time to com- pletely secure the king, so White must attack on the queenside. 27...cxd6 28 Efca Wha 29 Hic7 Ug 30 Exb7 Xf8 31 Kec? ean ae RA as : # YW 31...2.g3?? 31..g3 is a better try, although even here with 32 c2! White puts an end to all of Black’s hopes of ....\e2+. 32 hxg3 fxg3 33 Wea+ Ogs 34 Wxhg fixh4 35 Dh3 1-0 Game 24 A.Sokolsky-R.Kholmov USSR Championship, Kiev 1954 1 b4 e5 2 2b2 dé 3 c4 “1f6 4 3 B65 OR 287 Black has chosen to defend with the King’s Indian set-up. Here White's best choice is 6 d4 6 c3 0-07 Ler Again 7 d4 is best. In the game Sokolsky-Flohr from the semi-final of this Championship (see Game 19), White also allowed the move ...e4 56Black Plays ...e5 and ...d6 without first playing d2-d4, but Black’s bishop had been developed on e7. In that game White was better, but here Black will seize the initiative. 7...041 8 dg 65 9 De2 9 bxc5 dxc5 leaves White with a backward pawn on an open file, and surrenders the chance to place a pawn on b5 for counterplay 9...\c6 10 b5 Des 110-0 £6 If 11..d3, 12 &xd3 exd3 13 Del creates problems only for Black. 12 a3 Ke8 A complex position has arisen. Black will use the e-pawn as the spear- head for a kingside attack, but White can pressure that pawn and use the d5- square and his queenside space for counterplay. 13 We2 White prepares 2d5 by luring the enemy bishop from its defence of that square. 13 Wb3 d5! would open the game to Black’s benefit. 13...5.f5 14 Wb3 Not the immediate 14 @d5, because of 14...D£3+ 15 gxf3 exf3 16 &d3 Dxd5! with the twin threat of 17..Wg5+ or 17...Ab4, 14...h5!15 Dd5 DAxds This trade frees the c4-square for White’s knight, but the stronger steed on d5 could not be tolerated. 16 cxd5 hat The threat of ...h3, g2-g3, ...Sig4 etc forces a direct response from White. 17 £4 exf3 18 gxf3 h3 19 wha Wha 20 Wes Preparing ®\c4. The immediate 20 c4? allows 20..Axc4 21 Sxg7 (21 S&.xc4? &xb2) 21..ADxd2. 20...26 21 eq “\g4 22 Wb3 Oxb2 23 @xb2 Not 23 Wxb2? Af2+ 24 wg Dd3!, 57Play 1 ba! when 25...Wg5+ isa killing threat. 23...De5 23... 2+ 24 sgl We5+ 25 dexf2 Wg2+? (25...Wh4+ draws by perpetual check) 26 sel Wxh2 27 Adi followed by 28 £2 will prevent the h-pawn from advancing. 24 eq Sad8 25 Baca?! White has beaten off the first wave of the attack and should now advance with 25 a4 at once. To delay gives Black fresh chances. 25...b6 26 a4 &c8!27 £4 27 a5 is not quite fast enough, due to 27...&b7 28 axb6 &xd5 29 bxa7 We4!. 27... 2. gal 28 oxga xga 28...Wxg4 29 Ef2 gives Black noth- ing. 29 Nf3 Af2+ 30 ga eq The last few moves have seen Black's attack growing in menace, so White decides to offer an exchange to slow Black down. 31 Wda! Wes 32 Xg3 32...WES, Kholmov reckons that if he trades queens and takes the exchange he will not be able to win because of White’s 58 blockading knight, so he keeps the queens on for attacking purposes. The offer will not be withdrawn. 33 Wf3 Axg3 34 hxg3 &g7 35 g4 Wd3 36 Gh2 Seq This wins the d-pawn but leads to an ending in which the rook is in a box. Was there anything better? I don’t think so, since White also has threats, for instance 36..Wb3 37 £5 with f6+ looming. 37 He3 Wxd5 38 d3 Hdq 39 Wxds Sxd5 40 &xh3 gs! The start of a good and necessary manoeuvre to return the exchange. 41 f5 2h8+ 42 Ses S643 SF3 Les! aq Oxes &xes So we have an ending with equal material and equal chances. White chooses the simplest drawing line. 45 d+! OF6 Accepting the pawn sacrifice with 45...cxd4 46 exd4+ @xd4 47 Ec7 is dan- gerous for Black. No better is 45..8d5 46 dxc5 dxc5 47 Ed3+ tc4 48 Ed7. 46 dxc5 dxc5 47 Sd3 We7 48 a5! Sha 48...bxa5 49 Ha3 £b8 50 Bxa5 Bb7 51 be4 Edo 52 abt dc7 53 wd5! evengives White good winning chances. 49 eq Kb 50 axb6 axb6 51 Les The idea of this move is to induce Black into blocking the f6-square from his own king. If 51 Ba3, Black plays 51..

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